The Role Of The Textbook In Teaching English To Intermediate Students

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UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST DIN TIMIȘOARA

DEPARTAMENTUL PENTRU PREGĂTIREA

PERSONALULUI DIDACTIC

LUCRARE

METODICO-ȘTIINȚIFICĂ

PENTRU OBȚINEREA

GRADULUI DIDACTIC I

ÎN ÎNVĂȚĂMÂNT

CONDUCĂTOR ȘTIINȚIFIC:

Conferențiar Dr. Loredana Pungă

CANDIDAT:

Profesor Carmen-Maria Nedelea (Osiac-Nedelea)

Colegiul Național Vocațional Nicolae Titulescu , Slatina

Timișoara

2017

UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST DIN TIMIȘOARA

DEPARTAMENTUL PENTRU PREGĂTIREA

PERSONALULUI DIDACTIC

THE ROLE OF THE TEXTBOOK IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS

CONDUCĂTOR ȘTIINȚIFIC:

Conferențiar Dr. Loredana Pungă

CANDIDAT:

Profesor Carmen-Maria Nedelea (Osiac-Nedelea)

Colegiul Național Vocațional Nicolae Titulescu , Slatina

INTRODUCTION

I have been teaching English for 9 years and during this time I understood that the selection of a textbook is one of the most important decision that a teacher will make in shaping the content and nature of teaching and learning. Still, unfortunatelly, in the Romanian educational system little attention is paid to this issue due to various reasons ( up to 10th grade the school has always provided textbooks and therefore the teacher will take what the school has since there are no money to buy every year other textbooks if it is necessary – this is the most frequent situation with which any teacher faces ).What is a constitutional righ mentioned in the Education Law number 1/2011 became reality this year: all students incuding thoes who are in 11th and 12th grade receive textbooks from school.This success has two sides: it is good that efforts are made to fully respect the right to free education for all students but on the other hand there is a big question in what concerns the selection of the textbooks.That is why I strongly believe that my paper presents aspects which are part of the reality. In some cases teachers and students find themselve stucked with each other in a school where there is not time for a detailed analisis of the class’s needs.

The great majority of the debates and researches that have been generated both at national and international level about the textbook coincide in defining it as a fundamental factor in the formation of subjects and, therefore, as an indispensable element for the transmission of knowledge . What do we mean by textbook? Without defining a rigid definition, it is worth noting that there is a multiplicity of responses: a materiality, a curricular proposal, a bearer of meanings, a high circulation periodical, a teacher-student mediator, among others. Thus, it is worth noting that the concept of textbook refers to a great complexity and it is clear that there is no consensus about its definition. If we make reference to the daily language of the school it is possible to find a great variety of denominations with respect to the textbook. Thus, terms such as: school textbook, school textbook, guide book, school textbook, etc., are used, making an indistinct use in their definition.

Textbooks are very useful especially for novice teachers and students because they:

offer guidance in what concern course and activity design

assure a measure of structure and consistency

assure logical progression in a class

are essential for those students who want to have soemthing concrete to work home and take home for further study

provide multiple resources like :CDs, self-study woorkbooks etc.

The idea of this paper came to me when , after many school inspections often the same question was put several times to our school teachers: How did you select this text book and why? Even if it seems to be a simple, logic question, the answers were complicated and some teachers even got puzzled. In fact, I have been carrying this ideea in my head since my first teaching year but never had the possibility to develop it in an academic way. Therefore, I have decided to have a close look overe this topic and divided my paper into three parts:

The first chapter provides a general presentation regarding the importance of EFL textbook. In this respect, there were analyzed the types of textbooks, their development in time, their typological and didactic characterization, their components and so on.

The second chapter offers a perspective over teachers and students’ views on EFL textbook, while chapter number three highlights the situation of PRE and POST 1989 textbook in Romania.

The last chapter investigates of students’ and teachers’ view about the use of EFL textbook for intermediate level students.

The aim of the present paper is related to the desire of being a starting point for all teachers, including me, who have not thought too much about the importance of the texbook for the success of the teaching process. In some cases the use of the textbook to its best advantage seems to be overlooked when we prepare for the teaching activity.There is also another aspect : at the begining of our teaching activity, recently garduated teachers, do not know what to do without a textbook in the classroom. Others are on the other extreme: they do not know what to do with a textbook since they have concentrated more on learining about using technology in the classroom, how to design rubrics and so on. Therefore, I think there should be an equilibrum amoung everything we do in the classroom.

Before 1989 the English teachers had no possibility to chose the textbook since there was no variety. But after the falling of the Comunist regime things have changed, every year tens of books are introduced into market and their quality has improved very much putting teachers at continuous strain to chose the most appropiate for their class. The teachers spend a lot of time using textbooks in class, so choosing an appropiate one is important.

CHAPTER I.

IMPORTANCE OF EFL TEXTBOOK

1.1 General aspects regarding textbooks

Textbooks play very important roles in teaching and learning English as a foreign language, they provide the main form of linguistic input (Kim, Hall, 2002, pp. 332-348). The studies previously done on EFL textbooks have focused on the authenticity of language samples included in textbooks as well as explanations of appropriate usage. Sheldon states that textbooks are considered as the most important material of any English language teaching program (Sheldon, 1988, p. 237) and they are almost universal elements in this era (Hutchinson, Torres, 1994, pp. 315- 328), but the studies and researches on the roles of EFL textbooks in teaching and learning a foreign language still apparently exists. There are some criticisms about the presentation of language including grammatical forms and techniques which refer to the use of the invented scripts and intuition to create and explain language samples. "Only through materials that reflect how we really speak, rather than how we think we speak, will language learners receive an accurate account of the rules of speaking in a second or foreign language" (Boxer and Pickering, 1995, pp. 44-58).

Textbooks are an important tool in teaching and learning languages ​​in many contexts worldwide. They have become the main support of language teachers, especially for novice ones, who sometimes learn to teach with the teacher's manual. Textbooks are so relevant in teaching practice that a careful selection of them must be made. This type of election could affect many teachers and students because any mistakes made in this sense could manifest in serious teaching and learning problems. Changing a textbook in any institution is not easy for several reasons. One is that teachers get used to a textbook and change is always difficult to accept. Another reason is that new class plans and materials should be developed despite the fact that the publishing house provides several of them such as teacher's guides and some other components such as recordings and exams; any way, they must adapt to the institution. The textbook that is selected must be appropriate for the level of students. Then it is necessary a good evaluation to be done before adopting it. (Richards J, 2005, p.1)

The textbook has thus become a medium that has consolidated itself as a cultural and scholarly transmitter, to such an extent that, as it has now to become invisible, and with that its potentialities have become invisible as Didactic means.

At present, a new social context is emerging in which the creation, elaboration, reorganization, diffusion and use of information become determining elements in the relationships established by people with their social and cultural environment. In this type of society, information flows become determinant of economic and social progress, a society in which knowledge and competitive ability contribute more to progress than the natural resources of industrial society (Giddens, 1999, pp. 505-508) and where "essential values ​​no longer reside in physical media, but in the growing production of intangible goods and in the development of knowledge that becomes a strategic resource" (UNESCO, 1999).

Before analyzing the design and production of school textbooks, we need to clarify what this concept means, because in the wide range of printed teaching materials, not all are textbooks. Not all printed materials used to teach are teaching materials. There are different types of books (novels, essays, art books, encyclopaedias, dictionaries) and although they can all be used as teaching resources in an optimal way, one will say that there is a group of books that have been specifically designed and produced to teach (whether as a resource in formal or non-formal contexts). (Tomlinson, 2011, p.32)

Taking as a starting point the distinction between a didactic book (specifically designed to contribute to the teaching process) and a technical book (designed as a specialized technical aid or for information purposes, books that are part of the culture in general), one will include in this first category of textbooks three types:

• children's books (designed so that the youngest ones will learn basic concepts and develop their intellectual abilities), most of which are designed to focus on reading at home by an adult;

• school textbooks (formal textbooks for formal education)

• university books (manuals intended for higher education, so that their relation to the aspects of regulated education is less narrow, becoming treaties about a discipline or field of knowledge that can be used for different teaching situations or even as books of consultation beyond regulated teaching).

To facilitate a definition that concretes the idea, one will say that we understand as the school manual (school textbook or textbook) the editorial product built specifically for teaching. A printed school material or a textbook is edited for specific use as a teaching assistant and promoter of learning. We can therefore state that they have been specifically designed to teach, so they are didactic not because they are associated with the school attributes, nor because they are used in a school context, they are didactic for the purpose in which they have been designed. As a more significant characteristic, they present a systematic progression that implies a concrete proposal of the order of learning and a teaching model.

Nowadays, no one questions the influence that print media have had on the processes of systematic or spontaneous teaching, and how they have been conceived, along with other media, as a key part of socialization processes. In this sense, Sancho (2010) analyzed the role of the media in the social environment recognizing that the school is not the only or more influential institution involved in the education of young people, but that the enormous cultural production (cinema, theater, Books, etc.) and new ways of presenting information through new technologies "have multiplied the universe of social representations, making available an enormously expanded space of socialization" (Sancho,2010, pp. 433-444).

Added to all this, the critics of the textbooks appear as a current in which it emphasizes Apple (2004) affirming that the school textbooks reinforce the capitalism, the sexism, the classism, the racism, forming part of a system of regulation moral. The author considers that they are an essential instrument of advice for the task of teaching and are part of broader strategies of influence. It also emphasizes the need to analyze what knowledge prevails in an authoritarian way in the classroom, for whom and for what purposes serves, in short, to consider the importance of textbooks from a reflection that goes beyond explicit content or of graphic or pedagogical design. (Apple, 2004, pp. 12-44)

1.2 Types of textbooks

Another perspective of study, related to the previous one, is the one that deals with the "history of textbooks and their mutations" that have undergone under the influence of the technologies of the information and of the communication. Alain Choppin (2002), a French researcher recognized for his contributions to the construction of the history of textbooks, states that books can perform four essential functions (Choppin, 2002, p.20):

1. A referential function, also called curricular or programmatic: the textbook translates the broader curricular requirements and constitutes the privileged support of educational contents, it is a repository of knowledge, techniques or skills that a social group deems necessary to transmit to the new generations.

2. An instrumental function: the textbook presents learning methods, proposes exercises or activities that, according to contexts and times, aims to facilitate the memorization of knowledge, favour the acquisition of disciplinary or transversal competences, the appropriation of savoir- faire, methods of analysis or resolution, among other purposes.

3. An ideological and cultural function: this is the oldest function. Since the nineteenth century, with the constitution of nation-states and their development, in that process, of the main educational systems, the textbook is affirmed as one of the essential tools that shape the language, culture and values ​​of classes Leaders.

4. A documentary function: the textbook provides a set of textual or iconic documents whose observation and confrontation intend to develop the student's critical spirit.

According to Choppin (2002), the historical analysis shows that the distribution of the various generic functions of the textbook has known clear evolutions. (Choppin, 2002, p.54) The ideological and cultural function is chronologically the first: the most traditional textbooks, derived from religious literature, had as their main objective, if not exclusive, to instill in young generations a system of moral, political and religious values. During the nineteenth century, with the development of educational programs and with the secularization of all or part of the educational contents, the referential function becomes increasingly important: it conditions the internal organization of the manuals in stereotyped chapters where a hierarchical presentation of contents preceded the eventual exercises. The instrumental function will be developed later, in relation to the intense pedagogical reflection that takes place in western countries towards the end of the nineteenth century. There is then an "inflation" of the pedagogical apparatus. The development of the documentary function, which is a teacher with a particularly high level of education, is a much more recent phenomenon but has contributed to a profound change over the last thirty years in the structure and use of manuals in the majority of different countries.

If, in a different era, the textbooks were elaborated more like a study book in which information was prevailed, and the activities, if any, were limited to a series of questions at the end of each chapter, today they are a tool of everyday use where images, texts and narratives overlap. In these processes of change, for Grinberg, there are important several factors such as: "the inclusion of marketing and advertising, the production of knowledge within the framework of the didactics of the disciplines, cognitive psychology or the development of technologies related to design and layout ". (Grinberg, 1997, pp.1-9)

Although, as Allwright points out, ”the business established around learning is of such magnitude and complexity that one can not be expected that the decisions made regarding a given material marketed to large scale users fully satisfy their users, publishers are forced to offer products that are flexible enough to allow different levels of reading and authorize multiple tours of the book”. (Allwright, 1985, p. 6) Specifically, there are two possible options in the market: the first is the "multimedia" book, which associates the manual – which retains the central place – a series of "peripheral tools" (chips, cassettes, compact discs, workbooks and so on) that assume specific functions. The second, less expensive, is the integrated textbook, responsible for fulfilling all of the functions. In this second option, the concern to provide a response to the plurality of possible uses required by the new demands of the teachers determines a certain complexity of the instrument, which has led the editors to include, in the first pages of different editions, a section designed to explain the purpose of the various graphic resources: arrows, asterisks, question marks, logos of different types identify different areas of the textual structure.

The reading of a textbook, therefore, both by the networks of multiple references that are established between the various elements of a double page and by a system of particular signals, is very close to the procedures put into play in hypertexts. Thus, since it presents a discontinuous, disjointed, multiform discourse, the manual does not present itself as a book in which it is possible to carry out a reading activity followed, as can be done in other types of editions. To paraphrase Choppin (2002) we can say that the textbook, which is searched and zapping, is not a book that reads but a book "in which" is read. The "overexploitation of graphic resources" intended to guide the reader's interpretation constitutes one of the most obvious manifestations of the lack of confidence in the reader: "particularly in didactic texts, one used all kinds of resources – drawings, boxes or backgrounds of different colour, change of type and so on – because the punctuation is not enough to guide the interpretation of a reader considered, a priori, as incompetent.” (Choppin, 2002, p.58)

Other aspect integrates the "critical, historical and ideological studies" about the content of the textbooks and tries to uncover the explicit or implicit ideology that textbooks carry: the visions that are provided of "ones and others", the problems that are emphasized and those that are silent, the voices that are included and those that are ignored, the cultural stereotypes that are reinforced and those that are questioned. Although this dimension is much clearer in books belonging to social disciplines, it can be studied in manuals used in other subjects.

With respect to the format, some researchers pointed out that this is the basis of all the graphic design of the book and that the layout of the pages, the line length, the interline and the body of the letter are determined in relationship with it. Certain authors considered that the definition of the format influences practical criteria (their use almost always implies that they are opened on the desks and that they are loaded for the house and for the school, sometimes they are placed on the shelves of libraries that have standard dimensions), pedagogical criteria (their function, the form of interaction with them, psychological characteristics of students that, according to the level of schooling, involve mastery of a particular visual area) and industrial criteria (cost rationalization ).

1.3 Analyzing the English Textbook

The panorama of the language teaching of the last decades is characterized by the progressive implantation of the new technologies in the classroom. However, it is undeniable that the textbook continues to occupy a predominant place in everyday teaching practice. Its popularity lies in its usefulness to teachers and pupils; to the first, the book provides a set of materials difficult to be replaced without a great investment of time and money; the second gives him an overview of the subject, and allows him to prepare and review classes (O'Neill, 1982, p.25).

In relation to the learning and teaching English language, the English textbook reflects a vision of the language and culture of its speakers and a certain teaching approach that can influence positively or negatively in the learning of that language by part of the students (Richards, 1993, p.16).

With regard to the assessment of materials for learning and teaching of non-maternal languages, we can bring together different research trends:

evaluations of curriculum design (Dubin, Olshtain, 1986, p.15), (Johnson, Johnson, 1989, p. 22), (Alderson and Beretta, 1992);

the creation of models for the analysis of textbooks and teaching materials (Cunningsworth, 1998, p.32), (Ellis, 1997, pp. 36-42);

analysis of courses for English self-learning (Roberts, 1995, pp. 513-530);

large-scale assessments of language learning and teaching materials (Fitzpatrick, 2000, p.12);

small- scale analysis of some aspects of textbooks, and of different materials;

For example, in relation to textbooks, we find an analysis of vocabulary (Miranda, 1990, pp. 111-119), speech acts, reading activities , sexism and transverse themes ( Jacobs and Goatly, 2000, pp. 256-264).

As a document of utmost importance in fleshing out the contents of education, textbook are specific to a series of functions listed and analyzed by several authors. For example, Nicola I. (Nicola, 1996, p. 372), addressing this issue believes that the main functions of the English textbooks are:

information function justified by the fact that every textbook is an important source of knowledge for students; perhaps 70-80% of the knowledge acquired by them in the teaching-learning originated in this document, while a much smaller percentage teacher comes on the channel or means of mass communication;

formative function, explained by because of the operand contents develop students a range of intellectual work skills, develop their operators structures adapted to different types of content, they can become familiar with a series of algorithms that apply to certain categories of documents;

stimulating function is explicable in terms of English textbook’s quality can enhance student motivation for learning-training activity, can stimulate curiosity, interests and concerns may widen to know;

self-assessment function because manual self-education can prepare students for helping to form an individual work style thanks to whom the future can acquire a range of knowledge and information through personal effort.

Another author, R. Seguin referring to the English textbook’s functions considered that among the most important are (Seguin, 1989, pp. 22-24):

1) information function

Select knowledge must be made in order to avoid overloading;

when selection is done, knowledge must bear in mind certain reductions, simplifications, reorganizations.

2) structuring the learning function. Learning can be done in several ways:

from practical experience to theory;

from theory to practical applications by controlling acquisitions;

from practical exercises in developing the theory;

from exposure to examples, the illustrations;

from examples and illustrations to observation and analysis.

3) guiding the learning function which can be achieved by:

repetition, memorizing, imitating patterns;

opened and creative activities of students who can use their experiences and observations.

To successfully fulfil the functions of the specific manual must honour a number of requirements which are grouped into three categories, namely:

a) Requirements of psycho-pedagogical nature of the observance which require that the textbook knowledge and information is presented so that students can assimilate, understand and apply it;

b) Requirements regarding the quality of paper and printing ink, text readability and so on;

c) Aesthetic requirements (quality illustrations used to-drafting, binding and so on.).

If, as we have previously shown there have been advances in recent decades both in curriculum development and in designing the syllabi, it was normal for textbooks to benefit of the same attention and thus to introduce innovations in their development.

This was accomplished and is currently the most notable innovation focused on the one hand, on the development of special textbooks for teachers and special textbooks for students and on the other hand, the development of alternative textbooks for the same discipline that is taught by a class or education level.

Developing special English textbooks for teachers and students is a win, because each of them is related somewhat different from this tool that materializes contents of the educational process. For example, manual teacher or teacher's book is distinguished primarily in that it includes a larger amount of knowledge and information, and this is natural because the teacher must have a surplus of knowledge and information that appeal only in cases namely special when students face some misunderstandings, or when ask about a theme or topic, more examples and more embodiments. Also, the English textbook for teachers includes a number of methodological indications about the way they have to teach certain content.

Teacher's textbook includes types of exercises and problems that students must solve in order to demonstrate the degree of understanding of the contents that were the subject of training activity.

Regarding the textbook for students, it is distinguished primarily by lower volume of knowledge and information with a variety of larger exercises and problems that students will have to solve them by including independent work sheets and instruments through which students can assess themselves.

The second major innovation in the field of published textbooks is the alternative to the same discipline that through a certain education level. This innovation is productive and it can be easily justified in terms of psycho-pedagogical if we start from the premise that, since students are different between them both by cognitive, affective, motivational potential, then it seems natural that the textbooks for them to be different and to be designed so that it can be made compatible with certain categories of students. (Riasati, Zare, 2010, p.54)

For example, a student with greater possibilities for discipline, better motivated, it could opt for a more elaborate and sophisticated manual that corresponds to a greater extent to its psychological characteristics; on the contrary, a pupil less equipped and less motivated to a certain discipline can opt for a manual better illustrated, less complicated, that it favours and it advantages him to solve problems or specific activities at that discipline.

On the other hand, one must clearly indicate the alternative that textbooks prove their effectiveness as long as it still provides training unit, students in the same discipline, which means that each version of the manual should provide the core of the discipline, and the differentiation between variants to refer mainly to the presentation of contents, iconographic material and the variety of exercises proposed to the students. If this requirement is not respected some variants of textbook effectively penalize students who opt for them. (Riasati, Zare, 2010, p.66)

If the curriculum, syllabus, textbook are the main documents that materializes contents of the educational process, one must not forget that there are other curricular supports which have a negligible role, such as monographs on certain topics, journals, collections and chrestomathies, atlases and albums, educational software, tape, which can be appealed in certain contexts training to overload students, but to make them more effective and enjoyable learning.

Since ancient times, people have tried to find a method to make life easier. Thus, whether made tools to build a home or that hunted to eat, they themselves initiated activities to satisfy basic of needs. Today, however, with the evolution of society, the same man who once was building a house and hunt to survive, is the one who discovered that in education, regardless of age, plays a special role manual. So the question arises: Is it true that the textbook is a creation that serves no purpose for which it was designed – to educate, shape, help?

The textbook is an official document that provides curriculum concretization in a form that relate to the knowledge and skills systemically through various teaching units, operationalized and structured chapters, subchapters, group lessons, learning sequences.

The first argument in favour of the idea that by following content is reached to educate stems from the fact that any manual highlights the system of knowledge and skills fundamental to the field of study concerned, this means teaching appropriate images, diagrams, drawings, photos, symbols.

Moreover, any manual reflects the benchmarks and skills in the school curriculum and guidelines, theories, standards and conventions in relation to which they are presented, explained and applied contents reflect the recent acquisitions of the domain in the school curriculum. Thus, students are given the possibility of receiving, as actual images about the world and avoid some stereotypes formed as a result of seclusion in obsolete structures – elements that help also in a good and lasting education students.

All of the educational function of the school textbook links and the idea that the concepts of structure content of any textbook are presented, interpreted and applied in accordance with the meanings and scientific principles, accompanied by alternatives for interpretation, which indicates the opening it propose any textbook, within the maintenance purpose for which it was proposed. For example, textbooks of English language and literature does not provide unique solutions to solve the items, but encourages both students and coordinators discipline to propose alternatives for interpretation and resolution, in other words educates students, on the basis of theoretical principles and compliance, to adopt a personal point of view.

Another argument for the usefulness of school textbooks is that it acquire through its training function. This is closely related to the function of education previously mentioned, and refers to the stimulation of individual, independent and autonomous students. Textbook structure, complex or simple, provides models of inductive reasoning, deductive or analogue, to maintain its role of encouraging an open pedagogical project.

Another argument claims that English textbook achieves its purpose for which it was designed from the fact that it helps in two important ways: on the one hand, to stimulate the operations triggering activation and support attention and motivation of students and learning and, on the other hand, to stimulate internal mechanisms reverse connection, existing in teaching activities.

One possible option for evaluating the English textbook is to use a list that can be provided by the author. Experts generally present detailed listings and place special emphasis on important things such as methodology, language content, assessment, activities, book components and so on. Another good option is to make own lists according to what the school is looking for. (Cunningsworth, Kuse, 1988, p. 128-139).

There are several things to keep in mind before selecting the English textbook. First, special attention must be paid to the type of students who are in school. It is important to know their age, their economic status and their educational level. It is necessary to know the policies of the school and its objectives so that the approach that supports the book fits into that learning community. It is also relevant to know the profile of English teachers. They must know their training in the area of ​​language teaching, whether or not they have experience, if they have experience managing such students and so on. In addition one must know about the availability of equipment.

When evaluating the English textbooks, teachers must intervene because they are going to implement them in the classroom. Also, they should feel at ease with the book enhancing a careful review of it. However, it is generally the authorities who select the books and teachers are limited to use them even though the election does not seem appropriate. If teachers participate in the process it is easier for them to accept change in the institution. Publishing houses may also support selection because they are the ones who know the product best and can explain the approach on which the book is based in detail.

In each country, one of the strongest investments in education systems has always been to increase the percentage of literate population. However, contrasting the numbers of literate population with those of books read per inhabitant, we find that there is a significant poverty, because who knows how to read, does not. Reading grows the importance of textbooks.

For this reason, today there is an additional challenge to literacy, that of getting the literate population to become a reading population. This task is no longer an exclusive task of the school system; teachers, librarians, bookstores, publishers and, above all, parents should strive to make children capable of reading and becoming effective readers.

If this were not enough, the television and other media that mainly handle the information through images, have collaborated to give priority to the same image that uses a perceptive and concrete language, very simple to assimilate, in front of the word and the concepts, which involve a conceptual and abstract language and that require a creative process of thought.

For this reason it is very important to consider that having the different educational tools (books, CD-ROM, videos, Internet) within reach does not guarantee learning and acquiring knowledge and skills by itself, but the factor that makes them really useful and transcendent is the reading of its content; this is why developing the habit of reading in their children becomes one of the main qualities with which a person must count in order to successfully face the challenges of the world to come.

It is fundamental for parents to know all the benefits that reading provides and the conditions conducive to creating in their children the habit of reading:

• How to promote a positive attitude of people, especially children, towards reading.

• What family activities, type of readings and exercises make the development of the habit to be pleasant.

• How to fully and intelligently take advantage of technological tools.

1.4 Development

The teaching- learning process reveals human components (teacher and students) and didactics that, according to Cunningsworth are the state components (the problem, the object, the objective, the content and the result) and the operational ones (the method, the means and the form). (Cunningsworth, Kuse, 1988, p. 128-139).With regard to the environment, specialists from pointed out that it consists of images and representations of objects and phenomena that are elaborated for didactic purposes and also by the natural elements that are used as support for the teaching- learning process. The didactic means contribute to create the conditions for students to assimilate the contents of teaching at all levels that this activity implies. The authors mentioned that the methods and means are determined by the objective and the content and that it is up to the teacher to select the most effective methods and means for teaching the latter; also, they conclude that the means are classified in:

1) natural and industrial objects (live animals, machines);

2) printed objects (sheets, books);

3) sound and projection media (films, slides);

4) materials for programmed and control teaching (teaching machines, programmed teaching books).

The means of teaching English constitute a system characterized by ones as being artificial (created by the human being); inorganic (elements may be included or excluded without destroying their structure); opened and dynamic (undergoing constant changes and incorporating new elements). According to the above classification, the textbook belongs to the group of printed and printed objects; however, placing it in this class does not give enough information about its characteristics as a didactic medium that has historically developed.

1.5 Typological and didactic characterization

The textbook is a didactic means that reveals the general characteristics of the books and, in particular, those performing functions in the school environment. Every book contains content and its material support; one of the components of the content is the texts. Functional Design considers the texts taking into account their role in the communicative field; from this perspective, the approaches of Apple (2000) contributed in the conceptualization for the typological definition of the textbooks. These authors considered that each of the five spheres of human activity corresponds to a functional style that bears the name of the respective sphere; thus, they pointed out the existence of five styles: the scientist, whose purpose is to account for the development of science, in fulfilment of its informative function; the officer who directs and regulates the performance of the members of the community, in carrying out his directive function; the publicity, with propaganda function and whose purpose is to convince of an idea or a system of ideas; the literary, of aesthetic function, through which the interlocutor is sought to be affected by the artistic images through which reality is recreated; the colloquial, used to establish everyday communication. With respect to the functional style, which is relevant for the characterization of textbooks, the commented authors indicated that it contains three sub-styles:

1) the proper scientist, whose genres are, among others, article, report, monograph and thesis;

2) that of scientific dissemination, through which scientific achievements are propagated and which, in addition to other genres, implies that of textbooks;

3) scientific-administrative underestimation among whose genres are scientific documentation, instructions and charters. (Apple, 2000, pp. 7-20)

The author of this text considers that this classification makes it possible to identify the textual typologies in a more precise way, compared to other proposals, since it clearly contemplates the range of spheres of human activity, scope of existence of the texts, which, in both dynamic elements, can operate in different spheres. According to the approaches of Apple (2000), in the reference, it can be inferred that textbooks are a subgenus of school textbooks.

From the didactic point of view, the textbook was delimited by Wang et al. (2011) as the one that:

1) specifies the orientations of the teaching plan;

2) gives the teacher additional suggestions essential for class planning and conduct;

3) aid to the enrichment of methodical instruments;

4) it transmits to the student fundamental knowledge, education and philosophical instruction;

5) presents summaries, questions, stimuli for independent work, impulses to thinking and problems to solve. In this same sense, the specialists defined the contemporary school textbook as: "A teaching book of masses, where the content of the subjects that form the teaching is explained and the types of activities that the school program is destined to be assimilated By the students, taking into account the particularities of their ages and others.” (Wang et al., 2011, p. 91)

To the difference between the scientific text and the didactic text refers to Igbaria and Assaly affirming that the contents of the disciplines: "they are reflected very differently in the teacher's consciousness than in the student's, and this is why the new pedagogy considers it necessary to differentiate the pedagogical exposition of science from its systematic exposition." (Igbaria, Assaly, 2014, p. 26)

This conception of Igbaria and Assaly implies that the textbook manifests in its components two aspects: the disciplinary-didactic and the one of the writing. The first involves the content of the specific discipline that the student must assimilate and the didactic determinations regarding how to present the subject of study; the second enables the disciplinary and didactic determinations to be reflected in the book. (Igbaria, Assaly, 2014, p. 38) Based on the above formulation emphasized as a characteristic element of the textbook, one reveals the principle of accessibility of knowledge in the teaching-learning process. The author pointed out that the textbook corresponds to the following didactic functions:

Informative. Presentation of all the information indicated by the program of the respective subject.

Transformer. In two senses: didactic re-elaboration of the contents; conversion of purely cognitive activity of students into transforming activity.

Systematizing. Exposition of the teaching material in a rigorous sequence systematized, so that the student dominates the procedures of the scientific systematization.

Consolidation and control. Contribution for the students to orient themselves in the acquired knowledge and to rely on it to realize the practical activity.

Self-preparation. Training students in the desire to learn and the ability to learn for themselves.

Integrator. It helps students to assimilate and select knowledge as a single whole.

Coordinator. Assurance of the most effective and functional use of all means of teaching and the use of mass media.

Developer and educator. Contribution to the active formation of the essential features of the harmonious and developed personality.

1.6 Components of English textbooks

English textbooks involve two components: texts and the extra textual components. The texts carry the knowledge and activities that must be assimilated by the students; the extra textual components have the function of organizing the assimilation of teaching content and facilitating their understanding and practical use. Both texts and extra textual components occupy a place close to the cusp. One conceived the structural subsystem called text as composed of basic text, complementary text and clarifying text, as specified below:

The basic text includes the theoretical-cognitive texts and instrumental texts; these are characterized as follows: the cognitive-theorists have as their dominant function the presentation of the information. Its contents are:

1) the main terms and the language of a specific sphere of scientific knowledge that represents a given teaching subject;

2) key concepts and their definitions;

3) the main facts;

4) the characteristics of fundamental laws, regularities and their consequences;

5) the reflection of the main theories;

6) the characteristics of the development of guiding ideas and of the directions of perspective in a particular branch of knowledge;

7) the basic materials to form an emotional-axiological attitude to the world;

8) generalizations and ideological assessments and about the conception of the world;

9) the conclusions and the summary.

The practical- instrumental English texts play a predominantly transformative role (application of knowledge) and their contents are:

1) the characteristics of the methods of activity necessary to assimilate the teaching material and independently obtain the knowledge;

2) the characteristics of the principles and rules of application of knowledge;

3) the characteristics of the fundamental methods of knowledge in a given branch of knowledge, including applied methods;

4) the description of the tasks, exercises, experiences, experiments and situations necessary to deduce the rules and generalities to assimilate the theoretical-cognitive information;

5) the elaboration of the set of exercises, tasks, experiments and independent works necessary to form the complex of basic skills;

6) the characteristics of the ideological, moral and aesthetic standards necessary for activity in a given area;

7) the characteristics of the logical operations and of the necessary procedures to organize the process of assimilation of the theoretical-cognitive information;

8) abstracts and special sections, which systematize and integrate the teaching material;

9) the special elements of a text that serve to consolidate and even generalize repetition of teaching material.

The complementary texts are those whose main function is to reinforce and deepen the postulates of the basic text; its elements are:

1) documents;

2) anthological materials;

3) fragments of scientific-popular literature and memories;

4) literary descriptions and narratives;

5) notes or calls;

6) bibliographical and scientific information;

7) statistical summaries, including tables;

8) all sorts of lists, relationships, principal detailed features of phenomena and concepts which give a general picture of events;

9) supplementary information materials (beyond the curriculum frameworks).

The explanatory text whose main function is to serve the comprehension and complete assimilation of the teaching material allowing the organization and realization of the independent cognitive activity of the students has as elements:

1) introduction to the textbook or its different parts and chapters;

2) observations, notes and clarifications;

3) glossaries;

4) alphabets;

5) indices;

6) different types of graphic illustrations;

7) elements and summaries of norms;

8) index (relation) of the conventional signs adopted in a given sphere of knowledge;

9) Index of abbreviations used in the book.

1.7 Characteristics of school textbooks

Not every book that has been used in school is a "school handbook" in the strict sense. It is only those works that are specifically conceived with the intention of being used in the teaching-learning process, an intention indicated by its title, its subject, level or modality, its internal didactic structure, and its content, sequence of a school discipline.

The main characteristics that an English textbook contains in a strict sense would be: intentionality on the part of the author, systematicity, in the exhibition of the contents, sequentiality, adequacy for the pedagogical work, expository text style, text and illustrations combination, content regulation, their extension and the treatment of them and state administrative and political intervention. (Siegel, 2014, pp. 363-367)

The apparent simplicity of English textbooks often obscures a complex series of interventions, whether personal, institutional, technological or business. The contents and their organization usually respond to previous normative regulations, exposed in curricula and programs that conform the so-called "prescribed curriculum", of more or less obligatory fulfilment.

Regarding the English textbook, a socializing factor of first importance, may have been the type of written text that for a longer time was exposed to state control and prior censorship of its contents. As support for knowledge, it imposes a distribution and hierarchy of knowledge and contributes to forming the intellectual armour of students. As an instrument of power, the English textbook contributes to linguistic uniformity, to cultural levelling and to the propagation of dominant ideas. (Siegel, 2014, p. 375)

The English textbook is in many ways the true manifest curriculum of the school, which the school truly teaches, being the most used teaching resource in practically all educational systems. The school texts, being one of the most characteristic products of the school institution, have become an object of study of great interest, as testimonies that can reveal aspects that until now have been neglected or opaque, whether related to the inner life of the school institution or about the ideological influences and political motivations that gravitated over disciplines and curricular contents. Through them, the English textbook intends to recover and analyze also pedagogical theories and methodological principles, both those that were predominant and had massive diffusion in determined periods and countries, as innovative pedagogical experiences or reformist, minority or individual ones. English textbooks offer a very rich material for the analysis of the different social and political conceptions that influenced its elaboration. They were shaped by the different ideologies and currents of thought that happened in the course of history, but above all contain the most outlined expressions of the dominant ideas in each epoch. They are not a description or a photographic record of that society and culture, but they express, rather, an idealized horizon of knowledge, purposes and valuations, a set of interpretations and positions that express subjective visions of the social world, susceptible, in turn of being analyzed to try to understand the school history and the processes of culture transmission. (Kim, 2001, pp. 219- 243)

CHAPTER II.

TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON EFL TEXTBOOK

2.1 Textbooks and critical literacy

Textbooks have a very old tradition. His research as a unit of analysis dates back a few decades, but few researchers have paid attention to studying the treatment of reading.

The teacher usually organizes, selects, sequences the contents and chooses reading texts based on textbooks (O‘Laughlin, 2009, p. 41), which in many cases constitute the guide of his didactic practice in the classroom. Thus, the textbook is conceived as a teaching guide. These manuals contain a set of contents based on cultural and ideological values, almost always transmit the dominant ideas on which the content must be legitimized (Apple, 1992, pp. 4-12)

The textbooks are organized in a set of highly polyphonic discourses, because in them they converge diverse texts and authors that have been selected by the author and are organized according to methodological criteria and approaches dominant in the time. Structures vary according to how the textbook is conceived. In fact, changes in focus, curriculum plans and curriculum content have impacted on the development of textbooks and most publishers have been accommodating to these changes.

The importance of textbooks transcends the school environment, as they transmit cultural, social, values ​​and ideological contents. Textbooks, as pointed out by Fitzpatrick and McConnell (2008, pp.25-27), almost always explicitly express or underlie the ideology and mentality of the dominant groups that control the school institution through cultural contents and language. For the bourgeois liberal order they are more suitable vehicles for transmitting to the childhood in a uniform way the values ​​with which it is wanted to configure the citizenship.

The textbook and reading are closely related. Each textbook proposes a set of reading texts, usually based on the curriculum or because the authors see a topic appropriate. One points out some criticisms in this regard:

The textbook separates the school from the social uses of reading and writing. It is an artificial object created exclusively for the interior of the educational institution while no adult reads textbooks (adults read novels, newspapers, etc.).

Textbooks encourage the disuse of reading and writing, promote memorization, response to questions about text, operations and problems. The reading is not pleasant nor is it provoked by the curiosity to discover information, but writing is done by an epistemological need of the text: to use adjectives, punctuation marks, interrogation and is not written to express situations or authentic feelings.

While the criticism is true, it is not possible to generalize, because it depends on the use made in the classroom. In addition not all textbooks have the same structures or contents. Textbooks have changed since their first presentations, while the current ones contain more attractive designs, incorporate multimedia elements with links to the Internet. These variations demand new forms of reading, more multimodal. The didactic unit is composed of texts, activities, drawings, graphics, photographs and evaluation activities. The images are part of the multimodality and constitute a support for the understanding. Knudsen (2006, p.72) points out 7 ways of using the image: as mere illustration, as exemplification, exemplifying image, image representing processes, analogies, displaying a concept and graphics, synoptic charts, schemes, among others. So far, there are few specific studies from the socio-cultural approaches of reading that have as object of analysis the textbook. Jennifer Monaghan and Douglas Hartman (2001, pp.15-18) have grouped the research into five blocks:

1. The historical approximation of forms of schooling, centred on the acquisition of literacy in various historical epochs.

2. The historians of literacy (intersection between literacy and society).

3. The history of the book and the reading preferences of the population.

4. The history of the book, history of Scholarship book, on history of the audiences.

5. Research on the meaning of literacy in communities.

Working under the principles of a social orientation of reading implies recognizing that all meaning is plural, that students in reading the world understand themselves and others better. Within the learning activities, social justice issues may be included as part of their daily lives or activities to solve real-life problems. There is promoted social justice by allowing students to recognize how language affects and is affected by social relations by recognizing the power relations inherent in the use of language by recognizing that language is not neutral.

Textbooks that are geared towards achieving social competencies, from “critical social literacy”, help learners to assume their identities and roles in society, to distinguish forms of social organization, relationships of domination, and to critically challenge such situation. To accomplish this, as Alderson (2000, p.82) suggests, it would be naive to attempt to classify reading comprehension strategies between different levels of reading, when in fact they act simultaneously, interact with each other and have diffuse boundaries. For example, some textbooks, when engaging in critical reading activities, usually ask:

Recognize the purpose of an author.

Recognize tone and persuasive elements.

Recognize bias

All these questions require a literal understanding, as well as inferences from the evidence in the text:

Recognizing purpose involves inferring a range of content and language options.

Recognizing the tone and classifying persuasive elements involves understanding the nature of language.

Recognizing bias involves evaluating the text.

Critical reading is not simply a careful reading and in order to critically read we must actively analyze and recognize the evidence about the text. It is about recognizing that the world is transformed into words and words transform the world. Even young children can learn to identify and clarify ideological perspectives in books (Boutte, 2002, p.25), not necessarily to evaluate, discredit or applaud a writer's ideology, but simply to see what it is. Teachers and families should help to recognize the author's ideology, stereotypes and prejudices in books, in school and home reading practices. Apple (1992, pp.110-122) described three common reader responses:

In the dominant reading of a text, each one accepts the messages of their nominal value.

In a negotiated response, the reader may challenge a particular observation, but accepts general trends or interpretations of the text.

An oppositional response rejects these dominant tendencies and interpretations. The reader "repositions" to the text and assumes the position of the oppressed.

Of course, these types are just ideal and the answers can be a combination of all three. The situation is linked to power and domination, helps us visualize how power is exercised through textbooks. We understand power as a process of mind control through various forms of discourse, unlike the classical concept that defined power with reference to classes and control of the means of production. It is no coincidence that most of the time the contents of textbooks coincide with the values ​​and interests of the various power groups. The knowledge and attitudes expressed and transmitted by textbooks represent the dominant consensus. As van Dijk (2008) points out, rarely allow them to be controversial, which presupposes that there is a censorship of alternative or critical voices. A study has shown that third world countries and minorities (Black) are often represented as backward compared to white Western culture, which often appears as charitable and philanthropic to help the poor through assistance, beneficence or technological advice (Van Dijk, 2009, p.63). We know that textbooks influence the minds of students, so they are the main means of symbolic power, reproduction and ideological legitimating of the ruling classes.

2.2 Cultural content in textbooks: continuous dichotomy

Making a thorough revision of some authors who have been dedicated to examine the subject of the insertion of cultural content in the teaching of languages, we find a continuation of the dichotomous categories presented in the previous section. In this section, we will focus on those typologies that have focused on the cultural component in textbooks for the teaching of languages. We begin with Cortazzi and Jin (1999, p. 96) for whom the distinction between cultural content and cultural medium is very important in the analysis of textbooks. These same authors establish a dichotomy between the contents of the one or local culture and the contents of the foreign culture (s) in the textbooks for teaching English as a foreign language. Also, under a dichotomous classification is Luke (1989, p. 53), who distinguishes between open texts and closed texts. On the other hand, authors like Skierso (1991, p.432) and Snow (1996, p.139) distinguish the cultural recognition of the cultural production in the textbooks.

Cultural content vs. culture medium

Cortazzi and Jin (1999, p.109) argue that for a thorough evaluation of the cultural component of a textbook of English as a foreign language, this analysis should not only be done from checklists, but from the cultural context in which such a book is to be put to work. Cultural content, according to these authors, varies, but is affected in different ways when applied in the classroom, because there are preconceived ideas of the language being studied. For Cortazzi and Jin there is also a culture of learning that often differs from the proposal through the contents of the texts in such a way that the cultural content can enter conflicts and disagreements with the cultural environment in which the content has been study.

How to involve learners in cultural processes, according to expectations of what emerges in the culture of learning, is not only a problem of texts but of the interactions proposed by teachers in class. Given this typification, all textbooks used for this investigative exercise would need a much more critical look than is usually done in school contexts, since in our midst textbooks are chosen taking into account other relevant aspects in checklists such as the level of communicative competence of students, variety in proposed activities, credibility of authors or publishers, price, institutional educational project, etc. However, the cultural aspect is accessory without primary relevance.

In the case of the texts studied, we can establish that the design of cultural information is generally given to an international consumer although this consumer can be divided into subcategories specified as follows: in the first category would be those books designed for an English learner who interacts in this language with local speakers, this apprentice living in the context whose language he is learning. However, when speaking of other places other than the United States, there is a curious situation, since in this case, the American is presented as a potential tourist and abroad as an immigrant who gives information of his own country and, at the same time, he learns about the host country.

A second category comes to be the one that groups texts that are designed with a young adult learner of English as an international language in any part of the world. A good example for this category may be a textbook that includes information from various countries, not only from English-speaking countries, taking into account the inclusion of people of diverse races, genres, ages and nationalities.

In a third category would be those books that include information that seems to be designed to prepare the English-speaking learner for tourism. Some textbooks may include information from other countries but in tourist contexts such as a Himalayan excursion, ecotourism in Turkey, safari in Africa, Arctic adventure, holiday description. Similar instances appear on other pages of the same text. Click On (One) by Evans and O'Sullivan (2000) would also represent this category. In this textbook, frequent comparisons are made between curious ways of doing things in different cultures.

Innovations, a textbook used for grades XI and XII, is based on a language-rich, lexical and grammatical syllabus, addressing to students looking for new material to learn. The textbook contains different types of natural conversations that learners want to have. Along with the textbook, there can also be used the workbook, providing further practice and consolidation of language presented in the coursebook. In this respect, the Innovations Workbook includes various writing activities.

In order to teach English to Xth grade in an efficient manner, a good resource is represented by the textbook Click ON 3, a material organized into five modules, consisting of two units each, from complete beginner to intermediate level. The modules are represented by a combination of active English language learning with a variety of lively topics presented in themed units. The textbook consists in an organised syllabus in order to promote the gradual development of the language skills needed by learners for an efficient communication in English. The course also highlights a cross-cultural approach towards a stimulation of pupils’ interest.

Opened Texts vs. Closed texts

For Luke (1989), quoted by Cortazzi and Jin (1999, p.125), the cultural contents of school texts of foreign languages ​​can be analyzed under two categories: open textbooks and closed textbooks. A textbook with closed cultural contents shows cultural groups without problems, confirming or reinforcing in this way the views of the apprentices and their beliefs. The closed text presents problems completely solved. An open text, on the contrary, invites a wide range of interpretations, understands the learner as a culturally active subject and responds whether or not the textbook motivates to interact with it. If the teacher asks the students to present alternative solutions to the problems presented in the books, in this way the text becomes an open text, even if without the intervention of the teacher this book would be a closed text. Open texts offer much more complex versions of the cultures in question. The typology presented by Luke (1989, p.55) may be comparable to Damen's checklist (1987, p.17), which calls into question ways of dealing with realities that are uncomfortable, such as forced displacement, unemployment, poverty, racism, etc.

Analyzing the relevance of this category with respect to the set of selected textbooks leads to the conclusion that all of these, without exception, correspond to a class of closed texts because they do not include, in any way, social problems to be discussed or reworked and to look for alternatives of solution in the classroom. Not even the most advanced level books offer activities open to discussion about social problems, even though at these levels students are expected to be able to find alternatives to conflict resolution and discuss them in class.

2.3 English textbooks – a pedagogical resource

In the last four decades, the textbook as a pedagogical resource has continued to play a hegemonic role among the different materials for second language teaching / learning (hereinafter L2) such as the exercise book, dictionaries, cassettes, videos, CD’s, graduated readings and so on (O'Neill, 1982, p.104), (Matthews, 1985, p.65).

One of the fundamental reasons why the textbook has become very important can be found in the fact that in many situations (L2 teaching centres and programs) the textbooks used represent the curricular program of the centre. According to Richards (1998, p.41), the textbook along with other pedagogical materials form the program of many courses for teaching L2, that is, the objectives, contents, skills to be worked and the methodology used coincide with those that appear In the textbook. From the student's perspective, the book is not only a measure of progress, but also a source of study material at home, reference and practice, as well as offering the opportunity to see in advance the material to be to treat. Another reason for the supremacy of the textbook is the fact that books are agents of change. The idea of ​​change has become endemic in L2 teaching. English textbooks reflect not only the technological advances, but also different areas of interest (for example, English teaching for specific purposes) that have emerged as well as new methodological approaches (Allwright, 1981, p. 6).

Despite the relevance of the textbook in teaching an L2, it has not been without criticism. From the student's point of view, there is widespread discontent in the academic world about the lack of answers to the needs and interests of students in textbooks. Richards (1993, p.98) argues that individual needs are neglected as the book is aimed at an extensive and heterogeneous audience from both the cultural and geographic as well as the linguistic. Referring to the global situation, certain researchers clarified that this handicap presented by the manuals, due to the lack of attention to the reality of the student, having its origin in monetary matters, since it is more productive since the Economic perspective edit a same book that can be used in many countries to design it taking into account the reality of each country. Also, the globalization of sales in the publishing market leads to a trivialization in the content. According to Tomlinson (2008, p.3-13), the content of most materials is devoid of aspects pertaining to the world around us such as sex, violence, drugs, etc., which renders materials bland and present a world that does not respond to reality. From the teacher's point of view, the dominant position of the textbook negatively impacts on the role of the teacher, reducing its functions and abilities. The teacher becomes a technician who executes the book so that teaching is not seen as an interactive process but as something planned by others.

Finally, the textbook has been accused of ignoring the theories and results of research carried out in the field of applied Linguistics. Sheldon (1988, p. 238) notes that the selection and presentation of vocabulary in textbooks are often carried out without systematicity. Tomlinson (2008, p.15) emphasizes the fact that materials for teaching English as L2 do not reflect the process of learning an L2 since most activities do not go beyond rote learning, repetition, substitution and transformation. In other words, they focus on the practice of linguistic aspects and not on the transmission of the message itself.

While the importance of the textbook as a pedagogical resource in teaching an L2 persists, the same is not true of the components of language that appear in the manuals. Lewis (1993, p. 89) clarifies the following: "Lexis is the core or the heart of language but in language teaching it has always been the Cinderella". It will not be until the 1980s that numerous studies focusing on the teaching / learning of the lexicon in an L2 begin to appear. It is in the 1990s that one goes from a generalized skepticism about the role of lexicon in an L2 to a growing interest in pedagogical issues, such as deciding which vocabulary to teach and how to teach it. Within this context, research focused on the learning of lexical placements has emerged in the last twenty years, in particular those that revolve around the precision with which apprentices of different L1 use placements in English (Nizonkiza, 2013, p.181), (Sonbul and Schmitt, 2013, pp.121-159) and those that are related to the development of the knowledge of placement. The conclusions of these studies indicate that:

(a) there is a lack of knowledge about placements by English learners such as L2;

(b) it is necessary to teach the placements explicitly, especially those combinations that are different in the student's L1 and L2 to avoid errors caused by L1 transfer;

(c) knowledge about such combinations does not evolve in parallel with the rest of the lexicon; (d) factors such as the idiominess, frequency and degree of formality of placement in the knowledge about placements;

(e) part of the lack of collocation knowledge is due to an overemphasis on the part of the authors of textbooks in traditional grammar and in the free selection of vocabulary in L2 to the detriment of the principle of idiomity. However, the reader should be warned that these conclusions should be taken with caution, as part of the authors of these studies do not specify the criterion of selection of the lexical presentations in the researches and do not offer a methodological proposal for the teaching of these combinations in an L2 based on theoretical principles of the field of the Acquisition of second languages ​​(ASL). Likewise, most of the studies carried out so far focus on the production / recognition of lexical placements at the written level, leaving aside the oral production of placements.

With regard to the analysis of vocabulary from materials for teaching / learning L2, there is hardly any research. Nesselhauf and Tschichold (2002, p.251) review seven computer programs for vocabulary learning, concluding that the placement aspect has been left out. Nicholls (2003, pp.11-26) argues that in both training books for teachers of English as a foreign language and in the supplementary material for students to learn the lexicon in English is often the concept of placement. However, and following this author, the monographs for the training of English teachers as for a foreign language hardly appear in specific books for the English lexicon learning is almost never present. Finally, in a more recent study, Liu (2010, pp. 4-30) points out that there is a lack of critical analysis of the definition and nature of placements, as well as the methodology for teaching them.

2.4 Didactic resources from teachers’ point of view

The didactic resources, also called "pedagogical materials", are the means or instruments used to help the teacher to introduce the contents in the classroom, while facilitating the learning of the students in the foreign language. There are many resources that can be used in the class, but we will only make a brief description of the most relevant, to focus on the songs, which is the resource that we advocate in this work.

On the other hand, the activities are – within the didactic model – those that allow to reach the marked objectives, developing the contents established for each level. Thus, activities are the ones that ultimately lead to learning, involving the participation of the students in an interactive and creative way. Teachers indicate the following characteristics of the activities:

1) Authenticity: activities should expose students to real situations.

2) Use of skills: distinguishes between activities aimed at acquiring a skill and activities that involve using a specific skill.

3) Grammatical accuracy and fluency: activities that focus on grammatical accuracy have greater teacher control, while those focused on fluency are those that control learners and are therefore more creative.

In the beginning, the only material available for the foreign language class at the university level was the textbook and, at most, exercise books and reference works. With progress, cassette tapes were introduced for listening comprehension exercises. At present, thanks to the technology we have the most advanced computer programs and audiovisual material. Krashen (1989, pp. 22- 27) also points out language laboratories and even songs, which is our proposal. In fact, the new teaching methodologies, under the linguistic paradigm of pragmatics, leave aside the language as an object of knowledge to focus on its use and functionality.

Consequently, resources could be classified into two groups: print and audiovisual. Obviously, the vast majority of the first group developed along traditional linguistics and structuralism. Beginning with generativism, audiovisual resources were widely used.

There are many printed resources that can be used in teaching a language, especially in the English language. Therefore, we stop at the most relevant ones such as textbooks and English materials for specific purposes.

The earliest textbooks or manuals for teaching English as a foreign language date from the late 16th century, when French refugees needed to learn the language to communicate (Howatt 1984, p.6). Nevertheless, the proliferation of this type of publications takes place in the twentieth century, from World War II, since English would become the international language of business, science, diplomacy, etc. For Fowler (1995, p.193) "the textbook for teaching a language is a description of part of that language. It is necessarily a selection of the language as a set made according to what the author believes will be most appropriate to teach students who have reached a certain level. When selecting a textbook, several factors have to be taken into account, such as whether it is accompanied by an introduction, explanatory notes for teachers, whether your organization is appropriate for the level in question, etc. However, the textbook can not be the only material used in the process of teaching the new language, since each student has specific and different needs, necessities that do not always cover the manuals. Therefore, it is advisable to complement them with other materials, thus adapting the contents to the interests of the students.

The exercise books usually accompany and complement the textbook. Most focus on the grammatical practice of the language, although some also include activities of vocabulary, pronunciation or idiomatic use. Almost all publishers now publish these notebooks, also called “workbooks”. This type of material is focused on the students to work on their own, as activities for the home, so they sometimes include solutions.

Reference works, such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias and grammars, are an indispensable resource for advancing the learning process. The grammars help to solve morphological and syntax doubts, while dictionaries solve problems of pronunciation and lexicon, as well as contain information on sociolinguistic questions (dialect varieties, registers, etc.). Dictionaries can be bilingual or monolingual, but although at the beginning of the learning process the use of bilinguals is justified, at the most advanced levels it is advisable for students to become accustomed to using monolinguals. In general, reference works are a good resource, since they guide students to expand their knowledge of the new language independently.

Teaching sheets are large colour posters that introduce specific themes. They help develop oral and written expression, activating visual memory. They are very useful to contextualize the contents or to review the lexicon, giving rise to different types of activities: descriptions, narratives and even interactive activities to promote communication (for example, dialogues), in which students can talk about content the same ones (Wright, 1976, pp.123-128).

An advantage of press cuttings (newspapers, magazines, advertising leaflets, etc.) is its easy procurement and low economic cost. However, it will have to take into account their suitability for the purposes of teaching. There are several work options presented by this type of material (Vivier,1994, p. 363).

From the 1960s English for specific purposes acquires great relevance, since the English language becomes the language of business, science and technology. Apart from the appearance of the English for specific purposes, a great increase of specific materials took place to reach the objectives set. This material is made up of graduated texts, and other original documents (articles of specialized publications, scientific conferences, telephone conversations, etc.). The use of authentic material has a greater motivation on the part of the students (Peterson, 1999, p.85), (Edwards, 2000, p.78).

2.5 Criteria regarding textbooks analysis and a good learning in teachers’ and students’ opinion

This part of the analysis consisted of examining eight criteria to be met by texts to create a learning process similar to what is “recommended” in all teacher-training institutes (but rarely implemented), from teachers and students point of view. Again it is worth remembering that a good teacher can meet these criteria without the need for texts, but that when used, they must also meet at least eight criteria:

Stimulate free writing, since only a systematic thinking process is completed when it is put into writing. The text should clearly indicate, in each activity or module, the moments of free writing in which the student must necessarily think in a systematic way (for which may include pertinent questions). This requires that the teacher devote his time to reviewing the students' work rather than dictating subjects;

Facilitate the socialization of personal work. Students can prepare, in groups of four or five, a version that integrates the work of several of them (for example, a written version of an observation), so that the teacher only revises a more elaborate one which, in turn, allows self-evaluation of work in each). Therefore, the texts must ensure that each activity includes both personal and group work.

Give opportunities to make a decision within well-defined alternatives. Every time a student makes a decision he must think, and therefore acquires a greater commitment / interest with what he decides to carry out. That is why the text should offer you the opportunity to choose the specific situations that allow you to learn the same educational goal;

Achieve local adaptation through instructions that lead the student to identify the alternatives that exist in the local situation. The text should indicate to the student how to identify the examples-situations that exist in their reality, related to types of work, mobilization, health, production, history, geography, stories, legends, flora, fauna, minerals and other topics that include the national curriculum. Once identified, each group can select a situation on which it will work;

Provide a method to learn from the context and develop a permanent ability to systematize observations. Local adaptation of each activity requires including observation, oral and written description, integration with peer observations, but should also include self-assessment with respect to a model (and corresponding revision of the entire sequence of stages) so that the final version can be reviewed later by the teacher. In this way, the essential elements of the scientific method and of technology are integrated, which will, in later stages (perhaps in the middle level), become familiar with other methods;

Create community participation through the process of identifying and selecting local context examples used in the learning process. An important part of learning experiences should use everyday information about health, remedies, work, family, food, plants, seeds, animals, crafts, stones, maps, games, songs, anecdotes, local history, cardinal points, radio and TV. Much of this information requires the collaboration of parents and, in that process, they discover the vital contribution that their culture makes to the school;

Inducing a modular assessment that allows students to move at their own pace. Each sequence of activities should include, at the end, the description of a similar activity (even if it corresponds to a situation that is very different from the local context) with which students can compare the results of their work to identify ways to complete or improve their own work. This self-assessment also reduces the amount of time the teacher must spend to correct, since you do not have to review everything that students write. In any case, evaluating objectives in short periods (from one to two weeks) allows students to systematically complete each sequence (module) before moving on to the next, or the teacher decides if other activities are necessary before continuing with the following module

Finally, avoid extra work to the teacher that obliges him to sacrifice his family life or his rest time. The text should include all instructions necessary for the student-group to participate in the learning situation, even if the teacher can modify them at any time. The teacher should not create new learning situations at each opportunity, but use the best experiences accumulated until that time, without prejudice to improvise when circumstances require.

There are many other aspects and questions that we must ask ourselves when designing materials or we limit ourselves to selecting and adapting existing ones. Breen and Candlin (1987, pp.14-28) offer a very useful and complete guide. Its frame of reference and key aspects includes the following categories.

1. Objectives and contents of the curricular material: objectives of instruction that are proposed, what gives the apprentices and what they omit.

2. Tasks that they propose for the learning: sequence of work that they establish, type of tasks that suggest: variety, clarity and adequacy.

3. Requirements of the materials to the teacher who carries them out: identification of the teacher with the lines of work proposed, degree of professional competence required by the tasks.

4. Variety of resources and didactic materials: adaptation of the materials to the needs and interests and expectations of the students.

5. Adequacy of materials for learning English at the desired level: sequencing, structure and continuity.

6. Adequacy of materials to generate the desired learning processes: autonomous learning, discovery learning, learning construction, content-based learning, cooperative learning.

The relationship of criteria proposed by Breen and Candlin (1987, p.25) is useful and can help us, but it is not enough. We must deepen in other aspects related to the type of learning that we want to facilitate and to propitiate through the materials. In this sense, it is advisable to explore other areas and consider to what extent certain materials can contribute to its development. Littlejohn and Windeatt propose the following (Littlejohn and Windeatt, 1989, pp. 156-175):

1) knowledge of general facts or related to specific academic disciplines (general and / or specialized training);

2) teachers’ vision of what knowledge is and how it develops;

3) teachers’conception of language learning;

4) roles of the teacher and students in the classroom;

5) opportunities for the development of cognitive abilities;

6), and finally, the values and attitudes that reflect the materials and meta-cognitive instruction: learning to learn.

A few years earlier, Cook (1983, pp. 229-237) proposed:

a) knowledge about academic subjects,

b) the content that the student can contribute,

c) the language studied,

d) literary texts,

e) culture and

f) the subjects of interest of the students.

The characteristics and criteria suggested by Littlejohn and Windeat (1989, p.185) for curricular materials include the following aspects:

General culture and specialized training

The materials should contribute to the general training of students, to the development of their general knowledge, and to their specific training in certain subjects or areas of knowledge. As we will explain in the following pages, one of the approaches that can best meet those objectives is what is commonly called content-based approach.

Materials reflecting appropriate theories about teaching and learning

The most appropriate curricular materials will be those that best reflect our conception of teaching and are consistent with the theories of learning that are most appropriate in each context. At present, learning is seen as an active and dynamic process that involves selecting information, processing and organizing it, relating it to previous experiences and knowledge, using it in appropriate contexts and situations, evaluating it and reflecting on the effectiveness of results, etc. The materials must facilitate the progressive "construction" of knowledge through "significant" learning that will enrich the students' complex cognitive structure. In addition, Littlejohn and Windeatt (1989, pp.200-210) emphasize the importance of materials and tasks that favour reflection on the processes of learning and metacognitive instruction, the fact that students learn to learn.

Materials and resources based on an adequate conception of the language and its learning

When using materials, it must be taken into account that a language is not only a system of forms, structures and words, but also from the pragmatic point of view it is also a system of communicative acts and it is expected that the media and Resources used favour the development of communicative competence of students, understood as the integration of five sub-competences: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discursive, cultural and strategic (Canale, 1983, p.78). The learning of languages ​​takes place through personal and creative processes, global and cyclical, meaningful and in close relation with the interests, needs and mental schemes of the subjects who learn it. Sometimes it can be done intuitively and subconsciously because of the "input" used in curriculum materials or by the teacher.

Role distribution

We believe that the materials we use to teach and learn English (or any other language) must be designed and used in accordance with the above approaches and in a way that favours the development of:

a) oral and written communicative competence, both of linguistic and communicative activities and of skills, strategies, strategies and procedures that promote the adequate use of oral and written English;

b) attitudes and values ​​that favour some autonomy and self-regulation of learning and

c) self-evaluation of teaching and learning processes. To fulfil all these objectives there must be certain alternation of roles on the part of teachers and students in the use of materials for teaching and learning. Teachers may use the materials as a source of information that the student will receive, select, organize and assimilate according to their individual characteristics. Other times, the teacher will act as mediator or facilitator of learning and it will be the students who, autonomously, and with the help of the curricular materials employed, will regulate and be responsible for what they learn.

Developing problem solving skills

The educational resources and resources should also provide opportunities for students to solve issues and problems similar to those they will need to solve in real life when they practice. This is achieved through the resolution of tasks that relate to the world of education: planning of educational work, analysis and commentary on teaching and learning situations, etc.

Values ​​and Attitudes in Materials

  When we use the curricular materials, we can use them in a "referential" way, acting the teacher as an informant and the student as content receiver or in a more "experiential" way, when we invite the students to experiment with the selected resources. As we will see later, the "experiential" approach is more effective because it is often more meaningful and relevant to students. To the extent that materials provide more experiential situations, the greater the internalization of the values ​​and attitudes that transmit these materials. As Littlejohn and Windeatt (1989, p.220) affirm, there is a relation between the values ​​that are transmitted in the texts that we use in class and those that are forged the students: "recent studies claim a direct relationship between the values ​​and attitudes learners express and those found in texts with which they work”. In this respect, it is fundamental that the material used reflects the plurality of races, religions and beliefs that exist in contemporary society.

2.6 What do "communicate" the EFL textbooks? systemic-functional analysis of texts for teaching

Functional Systemic Linguistics (LSF) adopts a socio-semantic perspective of language. In this perspective, the language is conceived as a semiotic system that realizes and manifests the semiotic structures that make up a specific society and culture. The functional perspective considers how language creates meanings through successive choices and how it allows them to be exchanged through texts. The study of language from the perspective of the LSF promotes an approach to texts that includes linguistic and contextual aspects, giving priority at all times to what language 'does' in the situations in which it is used. Both linguistically and contextually, the LSF proposes a tripartite look at texts, giving account of ideational, interpersonal and textual aspects that are involved in the creation of meaning. To refer to these aspects the LSF adopts the term metafunction with the aim of suggesting that the function is an integral component within the theory (Halliday, 2004, p.12) The ideational metafunction organizes the human experience, gives names to the objects, groups them and classifies them. At the same time, when we use language we also establish personal and social relationships with others. This function is called interpersonal metafunction and the third metafunction is the textual one that is related to the construction of speech sequences, the organization of pertinent and adequate form of the message.

Names of units

We start by analyzing if the name of the unit:

Does it refer to the topic being developed?

Is it maintained throughout the unit?

Does it refer to the grammar point that is developed?

Is it instructive for the teacher or for the student?

Do you ask questions that are then addressed in the unit?

An interesting case is that of the book of EFL denominated Fast, Fast, that does not give any name to the units. It simply lists these units from 1 to 10 (Unit 1, Unit 2, and so on). We could speculate that the names of each unit would not fulfil a specific function, since they could be dispensed with, that is, they might not have explicit ideational content. Assuming that the ideational, interpersonal and textual aspects coexist in the same expression, we decided to make an approach to the names of the units with particular emphasis on interpersonal metafunction. Taking this interpersonal perspective into account, we performed a survey of the type of exchange expressed in the names of some units of the books analyzed. We check if the name of the unit offers or asks for information, or if it offers something, or asks for something to be done. Usually these functions correspond to predictable grammatical forms, for example:

the request for information is usually channelled through a question;

the offering of information (telling something to another) is done by an affirmation;

to order or order another to do something usually corresponds to an order;

doing to do something for another, although it does not have a habitual grammatical form or 'congruent' can be done by means of questions or affirmations.

Participating in an exchange involves assuming a certain role by fulfilling a communicative function. We ask whether the names used to identify the unit effectively fulfil one of these communicative functions, or whether they only illustrate a given grammatical form, without much regard for its value as communicative exchange.

In EFL books, there is little presence of exchanges that require goods or services (imperative forms), and none that offers them. Although the greater number of unit names give information, and are expressed as affirmations, a significant number of names that request information through interrogative forms are also observed. With regard to the other two possible types of exchange (request / offer of goods or services), their presence is scarce. At the interaction level, it is expected that the names of the units provide information, so the predominant declarative forms are not conspicuous. As for the information request instances, more doubts are generated, for example: Is the question addressed to someone or just exemplifies a form? Is the interrogative form fulfilling a different function from requesting information (creating expectations, fostering discovery, activating knowledge, etc.)? Does the answer to the question arise in some instance within the same unit?

In this unit, a question is raised regarding the location of a city in UK. However, in the section of the unit to which reference does not give an answer to the question neither in linguistic nor graphic form, which illustrates that the use of this question to name the unit does not respond to communicative motivations, but rather exemplifies a grammatical structure. The meaning is completely displaced, moving to the forefront of formal aspects of language. Another important aspect that arises from this analysis is what is the 'voice' that is heard. In other words, if the name of the unit asks a question, is it the teacher or the teacher who is asking? Or are they the authors of the book? To what extent is the textbook the teacher's voice; Is it recognized as a third voice: teacher / student – book? We understand that the formulation of these questions is valid when developing teaching materials. On the other hand, by focusing on ideational aspects, in our observations so far, we note that it is relatively common to use names of units that reproduce popular ones, in their complete, abbreviated or briefly modified form.

In general terms, the exploration of the names of the units with this look allows to observe aspects that usually go unnoticed and has led to the formulation of several questions. It is precisely the formulation of these questions that offers potential for the design of teaching materials in EFL domains.

2.7 Suggestions for better use and modification of textbooks

In performed exercise it was not possible to consider how the teacher uses the textbook in practice. It was agreed in the group that this topic is interesting and necessary for educational research, since the actual use of the book in the classroom would offer other indicators of analysis to raise possible suggestions and modifications to textbooks. Anyway, it was possible to make some suggestions and / or modifications:

• There should be a direct, clear, and concise relationship between the student's book and the teacher's book.

• It would be very useful for the teacher to have other materials available: dictionary, encyclopaedia, library, maps, etc. The learning units of the different areas of work should include bibliographical references to access other books as well and complete or contrast the information that appears in the student's book, especially for the last grades.

• Both the teacher's book and the student's book should include activities that promote community involvement.

• The book for the teacher is not a didactic guide that guides how the students learn. It does not present methodological axes according to each discipline. The book for the teacher is in itself the curriculum, and the list of objectives and activities it presents are not organized according to a work plan in terms of time and resources needed.

• The teacher's book should also provide criteria for assessing student achievement and even presenting assessment tools. The evaluation criteria defined with reference to the general objectives could support the teacher in the hierarchical content, otherwise the program is very broad and difficult to fully comprehend. In general, it can be seen that the general objectives are presented as discourse and not as key orientations for the teacher

• It is necessary to give the teacher the opportunity to conceptualize, that is to say, he / she understands the concepts that he / she is going to explain and does not only become a transmitter of knowledge. Teachers should experience similar learning experiences as the student will face

• The book for the student should be conceived more as a workbook and not only of reading and although the book has to include texts, activities could be proposed to exploit and recreate reading. In this respect, it should also force the students to write continuously and reflect on their writing in all areas of work.

• A way of evaluating the work of the teacher should be implemented, because until now what exists is the programmatic progress in which only the progress is quantitatively described, the specific objectives of the unit that have been covered are recorded, but not explains how it was done and what kind of difficulties were encountered.

• It would be useful for the teacher to have spaces in the book to reflect on his practice, a way in which he could describe what he does and why he did so. In this manner, the teacher could also make changes and these would be registered, and those in charge of elaborating the books and programs could be fed back of the ideas of the teachers.

2.8 Practical utility for the future

Chambers (1999, p. 203) has investigated the motivation of German students in the UK, and found that students give two examples of why they learn: (1) because the subject is useful; and (2) because it is pleasant. However, learning can not always be enjoyable or fun, but it is something that students can tolerate if what they learn is considered useful.

The results of the Skolverket report (2005, p.43) show that, within English teaching, there is a positive correlation between the interest in learning and the fact that it is considered a useful subject for the future. There is no equivalent report on the teaching of other modern languages, but it can be assumed that this information can also be applied to the teaching of other languages.

In another publication by Skolverket (2005, p.46), one can observe that several students think that for professional life, it is necessary to know a foreign language other than English, and some are sure that they will do use of other languages ​​in their future work. More motivated students usually associate more to the work world. Also those who are not sure that they will use the language in professional life, admit that it is good to know different languages. Half of the students want to work abroad in the future, and we can see that it is common to think of how English knowledge will be useful for the future. As for the current and future needs of languages, students note that there are individual varieties, and that not all have the same motives for their studies.

Generally, students associate language skills with travel abroad. As for the students of L2, everyone says that they like to travel to English-speaking countries. Their associations with the word "language" generally have to do with communication, and they are referring to the possibility of communicating with people from other countries and using useful phrases when they are on vacation. In other words, they see themselves using English in future real situations. Some of the students express an interest in the culture of the target language society, so they think that the broad knowledge of a language helps to understand and have access to cultures where English is spoken.

If we return to individual varieties and motives, Boekaerts (2009, pp. 105-112) points out that students have very varied objectives, and consequently, the practical utility for the future of different knowledge varies greatly. One problem is that the teacher usually does not know the goals of his students, but since personal goals are the main energy source that drives us, it is fundamental that the teacher learns about his main objectives and that he takes them into account the time to teach.

CHAPTER III.

PRE AND POST 1989 EFL TEXTBOOK IN ROMANIA

3.1 English textbooks and reading: an analysis of the '80s

Reading ability is one of four linguistic skills that are developed in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Reading texts in a foreign language with a good understanding is as important for learning the same as any of the other skills, namely: speaking, listening and writing.

However, on many occasions students in the English classroom can not really understand what they read, nor can they develop reading strategies based on what they read. One reason might be that not all textbooks for teaching English propose beneficial activities to promote good understanding and, in their presentation, they are in many cases ineffective and insufficient to achieve this aim . Behind every reader in a foreign language, there would be an educational practice of reading, and each practice would involve, among other things, the material selected and the cognitive goals that are expected to be achieved. In the classroom of English as a foreign language, the choice of which textbook to use for the teaching of reading, with a certain type of activities that activate certain cognitive processes and leave aside the practice of others, could result in the training of different types of readers: experts, inexperienced, reflective, apathetic, conformist, critical, etc.

The present study was carried out with the objective of knowing historically how reading has been considered when editing a textbook in English (from 1980 to the present), what kind of activities have been designed for its practice, and what cognitive processes have been prioritized for their teaching.

Theoretical framework

Components of the reading process

It is important to note that the focus of research in recent decades on reading shows that in the reading process meaning is created by an active negotiation between writer, text and reader (Irwin, 2004: 343). Reid (1988: 34) defines the author as "a creator of meanings that chooses to communicate through a text." At the moment of writing a text, the author considers both social factors – content, situation and reader – as well as language factors (Peyton, 1990: 77). Reid (1988: 34) also defines the reader as the person who experiences, reads, and responds to the text. Like authors, readers have purposes as they read, and they can change when they return to the text for a new reading, to seek information, for pleasure, to seek meaning, etc.

One may call written text to a cultural product formed by words that man constructs when he wants to send a message, to transmit at a distance or to conserve through time, feelings, restlessness, opinions, respectively, a set of mental or spiritual matters. The text is made by combining letters or spellings printed on some material. It is important to distinguish that in the mind of the reader a unity of meaning is restructured on the basis of what is perceived visually. Whoever constructs a written text must use the resources of a conventional system of verbal signs in such a way as to result in a cohesive, readable, comprehensible and linear text. The textbook is a whole whose contents must be structured to facilitate a coherent reading. Consistency arises through the semantic relationships expressed in successive sentences and by the fact that it refers to a subject in a way that repeatedly names the persons, objects or situations associated with the main theme. "Textual relations (conceptual, functional, co-referential and placement) form, together with semantic relations, the internal fabric of the text, forming its potential coherence that the reader must update by integrating his previous knowledge.

It is also important to note that it is impossible to separate the act from the understanding of contextual factors (reader context), the specific text being read (textual context) and the total situation (situational context), since all these components strongly influence In what is read and understood (Irwin, 1996: 28). Understanding is an active process in which each reader brings their own attitudes, interests, aspirations, skills, prior knowledge and is influenced by the reader's context, the characteristics of the text and the situational context.

Reading comprehension and transactional reading model

The transactional model of reading comprehension is characterized by being "a global process oriented to the integration of strategies rather than a sequential hierarchical list of skills and text-reader interaction rather than the passive reception of the message" (Ennis, 2011: 36). Judith Irwin (1996: 26) defines the process of reading comprehension as: the process of using one's previous experiences and the writer's clues to construct a set of meanings that are useful to the reader in a specific context. This process can involve understanding and selectively remembering ideas in individual sentences (micro processes), inferring relationships between clauses and sentences (introspection processes), organizing ideas by means of summarizing them (macro processes), and making inferences Necessarily proposed by the author (elaboration processes). These processes work together (interactive hypothesis) and can be controlled and readjusted by the reader as the goals of the process (met cognitive processes) require and the total situation in which the understanding occurs (situational context). (Irwin, 1996: 9)

The transactional model of reading (Irwin, 1996: 21) focuses on subjective variables (of the reader) while the other components (text and context) are studied in relation to their interaction with the former. The reader is the most complex variable, differentiating in it structures (cognitive and affective) and processes. Cognitive structures imply knowledge of the language (phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic) and knowledge about the world (organized in the form of schemes). On the other hand, affective structures involve the general attitude towards reading and interests.

The transactional model (Irwin, 1996:22) presents at least five types of processes (micro processes, integration processes, macro processes, elaboration processes and met cognitive processes) that occur simultaneously during the comprehension, and at the same time each of them involves several sub processes.

The first task of the reader is to derive the meaning of the units of individual ideas in each sentence and decide which one to remember (micro processes). Assuming that the meanings of individual words are understood by the reader, at least two sub processes are required to understand individual sentences. The first one is called "chunking" (meaning grouping words into meaningful sentences and their lexical recognition) and requires a basic understanding of the syntax and its use in written language. The second thread is the selection of ideas to remember. For the reader it is impossible to remember every detail and good readers select what is important in each sentence, retaining it in short-term memory.

Readers can remember what they read if only individual ideas are connected into a coherent manner. This means that the relationship between clauses and sentences must be understood. The process of understanding and inferring the relationships between individual clauses and sentences is called the integration process. This process requires the ability to identify the pronominal referents, infer causes and sequences, and make other relevant inferences about the total situation being described. In general, integration processes involve the use of cohesion and inference indices from the schemas.

Different aspects are connected and retained in memory more effectively if they are organized around an organizational pattern. The process of synthesizing and analyzing the units of individual ideas in a summary or organized series of general ideas is called mproprocess. At least two sub processes are necessary, the summary of the text and the use of the general scheme of organization of the author as a strategy to organize the representation itself in memory. This may involve the removal of unimportant information and the identification or construction of main ideas that summarize a large number of data.

The processes of elaboration refer to the processes of inference not necessarily proposed by the author and that do not require a linear interpretation. The reader makes predictions, integrates his prior knowledge, makes mental images and appeals to the processes of higher thinking (application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) in the reading process.

Met cognitive processes can be defined as conscious knowledge and control of the cognitive processes of the reader. This involves knowing when one understands something or not and knowing how to achieve the cognitive goal. The selection, evaluation or regulation of the strategies to control long-term comprehension and memory are sub processes that correspond to the met cognitive process.

Implications of Scheme Theory for Foreign Language Readers

Given the importance that the schemas have in the reading process, there are implications of nodal significance for readers of a foreign language. The prior knowledge these readers bring to a text is usually based on their specific culture. "The problems of reading the foreign language reader are not due to the absence of intentions to adjust and provide specific schemes. On the contrary, the problem lies in projecting the appropriate scheme" (Hudson, 1982 quoted by Carrel, 1988, p. 81). The reader's prior knowledge and experience in a foreign language interacts with conceptual skills and procedural strategies to produce comprehension, conceptual understanding being the general intellectual ability and process strategies to various subcomponents of reading ability, including General language processing skills and prior knowledge and experiences of the reader (Carrel, 1988:87). It is important to take into account the reader's prior knowledge and experiences as they can provide much more information in comprehension, and facilitate reading comprehension, as well as providing a tremendous amount of information, ideas, attitudes and beliefs. This knowledge, along with the ability to make linguistic predictions, determines the reader's expectation as he reads.

David Nunan (1999:58) emphasizes that knowledge of the environment is a more important factor than the grammatical complexity in the ability of readers to understand cohesive relationships in texts. It is more successful to insert, for example, acceptable words in spaces in a complex but familiar text, than in a simpler but unknown one. It is necessary to have knowledge of how cultural differences influence understanding in each student. They may be related to prior knowledge, lexicon or interest. To do this, the teacher must: design pre-reading activities that are oriented to work with previous knowledge; Teach reading strategies according to the purpose pursued; Provide a wide variety of reading purposes; Develops tasks to help students identify logical and referential references in texts; Give students the opportunity to go beyond the texts by evaluating and criticizing what they say; etc.

Textbooks and exercises for reading comprehension in a foreign language

Celce-Murcia (1999:22) defines the textbook for the teaching of English as one of the tools that provides and sequence the content and activities for the teaching-learning process of the foreign language in the classroom context. Textbooks generally have three basic components: content (linguistic and thematic) and their explanations, examples, and exercises or tasks. In addition, every textbook responds to a particular approach (s) or method (s) for teaching the foreign language, which determines the methodological sequence and proposed method of work.

Regarding the teaching of foreign language reading, Judith Irwin (1996:28) recommends looking for methods that form active readers rather than passive readers. In addition, these teaching methods should involve students in tasks that are meaningful to them, if they are expected to create their own meanings. Therefore, Irwin proposes fundamentally the teaching and practice of cognitive processes and sub processes. Both the juxtaposition proposed by Irwin and that developed by Davies and Green (1984, quoted by Nunan, 1999:55) known as DART (Directed Activities Related to Text, TRAD, Targeted Activities Related to Tex) are characterized by approaches based on strategies and emerge as an alternative to the traditional approach to comprehensive reading and as a reaction to traditional reading habits.

According to the strategies-based approaches, tasks for good reading can be characterized as follows (Nunan, 1999:56):

Use authentic and challenging texts;

Provide students with a rhetorical and topic framework to process and analyze the text;

They frequently involve an oral reading of the text by the teacher or a student followed by a silent reading and re-reading of the text;

Involve the students in a direct analysis of the text;

They frequently involve the transfer of information from the text to the visual representation.

If reading in relation to methods and approaches to teaching English as a foreign language is taken into account, reading in English as passive-receptive ability was the perspective adopted during the 1980s at the School. The analyzed sample that corresponds to this decade presents certain elements that would indicate that the Grammar Translation Method was applied in the teaching of English like L2. According to this perspective, reading was not a process of discovery for the reader but one of extraction and decoding of the only message printed in the text: that of the writer. In fact, all the books analyzed present a large number of similar questions that focus on the activation of the micro process of chunking and micro selection, which would emphasize the importance of the text and of the author's writing. To answer such questions, the reader should not build any personal-individual meaning, simply search for words, phrases or sentences with the aim of practicing vocabulary and / or grammar.

If the reader should answer, for example, the first question "What have the painters done?", You could select the phrase "The painters have painted the walls and the ceiling of the living-room …". That is to say, the reader would be extracting explicit information from the text, without having to perform any type of elaboration process that requires superior thinking skills to transform the content of the same.

The same is observed in the corpus with respect to the integrative sub-processes of understanding of connectors and understanding of anaphora. All the books analyzed present a large percentage of questions that require the reader to activate the aforementioned sub processes. In making these processes, the reader "constructs his understanding by inferring ideas that are not directly stated by the author" (Irwin, 1996: 38-39) in the text, and which are absolutely necessary for understanding the relations between Clauses and sentences. However, such questions do not require the reader to construct meanings that go beyond the text itself.

To answer such a question, the reader must perform integrative processes that allow him / her to understand that there is a causal relationship between the two clauses, that is to say, "We can see her teeth if she is smiling." At the same time, the question requires the reader to identify pronominal referents, that is, to establish anaphoric relationships. In this particular case, the reader must understand that "her" in the first clause and "she" in the second, refer to the girl who has already drawn his face, for which the reader must recover the meaning of the Referring to what has been expressed previously in the text. But in both cases the reader finds the answers textually explicit.

Also, the books analyzed in the 1980s trigger some of the elaborative sub processes, albeit to a lesser extent than the processes discussed above. Only two of these sub processes, the affective response and the integration of prior knowledge appear in activities of the four analyzed, although they do not work in all the selected units. Such is the case of English Lessons. Textbooks may be activated by means of a single question "Do you like to see the parade on 9th July?" The affective response sub processes, after the student has not read a text about that country date. However, this book does not present other activities for the activation of this sub processes in the rest of the analyzed units. The same goes for the other three books of this decade. Something similar could be said with respect to the sub-process of integration of previous knowledge, as the sample presents activities that work but are not present at all units or in all books. Therefore, the process of elaboration appears in a percentage so low of the sample that it seems to be that the objective of these books does not aim at the activation of the same. The inclusion of activities that work the processes of elaboration would respond in tones to a random question rather than a permissible objective of such books.

With regard to macro processes and met cognitive processes, none of the books of this decade of the analyzed corpus show any activities that point to the activation of these processes. In this respect, the objective of this didactic material would not take into account any strategy for the reader to connect and retain in memory the ideas of the text presenting activities that work their organizational pattern. Nor would they focus their reading tasks for the reader to make a selection, evaluation or regulation of their own reading strategies to control comprehension and long-term memory. It can then be concluded that the knowledge and conscious control of the cognitive processes on the part of the reader was not taken into account in that decade.

On the other hand, recalling the theoretical proposal of Irwin (1996) and Nunan (1999) on the concept of reading task, the analyzed books of the decade of the 60 do not present activities whose main objective is to train critical and reflective readers. Irwin (1996: 77) recommends looking for methods to form active readers rather than passive readers, involving them in meaningful tasks and emerging from different types of texts (journals, magazines, pamphlets, etc.) so that they can find and construct meaningful meanings for they. This goal is achieved when designing activities that help the reader to activate all processes and cognitive sub processes. In the analyzed sample, fourteen of the sixteen analyzed units presented descriptive texts and the remaining two included a dialogue and a narrative text (fable). In this way, the potential reader of these books would not be exposed to a variety of genres that would allow him to identify the important categories of information in the text and see how different types of text are organized in different ways. When readers select or construct ideas that represent the essence of the text, they often use ideas that summarize the main categories of information, that is, they put into practice their ability to process (Irwin, 1996:70). However, the textbooks analyzed, by not presenting a variety of genres, prevent the reader from focusing on the practice of this process.

Also, Irwin (1996: 68) emphasizes the variety of activities and proposes the design of a range of tasks for the practice of all processes and cognitive sub processes. However, in the analyzed sample it is observed that only one type of activity has been designed for the practice of the processes: questionnaires, which are based mainly on remembering information. According to the parameters proposed by Nunan (1999:54) in his strategy-based approach, the textbooks of the 60s analyzed in this paper do not involve readers in a direct analysis of the text, they do not allow them to perform and confirm hypotheses , They do not give them the opportunity to talk about alternative interpretations, and they do not provide them opportunities to ask about what they do not know instead of answering what they already know or is explicit in the text.

Other studies on the definition of reading activity are based on Breen (1990) and Celse-Murcia (1999), who also emphasize the importance of having the pedagogical activities of textbooks have a clear objective, An adequate content, precise slogans and a wide variety of linguistic tasks whose general purpose is to facilitate and promote critical reading. However, these theoretical parameters do not characterize the activities presented in the analyzed corpus. They lack a clear reading purpose that serves as an excuse for the reader's goal to be significant and the reason for resolving the activities makes sense. The exercises in these books are reduced to groups of questions which, as indicated above, involve the activation of micro processes and integrative processes, without involving readers in the manipulation, systematization, production, interaction, and comprehension of the text. As shown in the following illustrations, the activities presented do not imply problem-solving, decision-making, or simulation (Breen, 1987:93) that propose a goal beyond language practice and involve strategies that lead to formation of critical readers.

From the analysis of the activities of reading and the texts that belong to the books used in the decade of the 80, it can be concluded that:

Activities that have been designed for reading comprehension activate only micro processes and processes of integration, without taking into account macro processes, processes of elaboration and met cognitive processes. This means that the reader "understands" the text from the meaning of the units of individual ideas in each sentence, and from the relationships between individual clauses and sentences. However, these activities do not prepare the reader to synthesize and organize the units of individual ideas in a summary or organized series of general ideas, nor to make predictions, to integrate their prior knowledge, to make mental images and to appeal to higher thinking processes In the reading process. Nor do they provide the tools for learning to regulate knowledge and the conscious control of their cognitive processes.

The textual variety presented is small, which impedes the reader's exposure to the reading of various genres so that he can achieve the development of strategies that allow him to identify different general schemes of organization.

The activities of reading are not varied but consist only of questionnaires that work mostly micro processes, such as explicit information in the text. These types of questions limit the reader in the activation of strategies that allow him to infer and understand information implicit in the text.

There is no presence of clear slogans in the questionnaires that indicate to the reader what is expected to do. There are no explanations that show a transition between text and reading activity, and that group the questions that refer to the thematic progression of the text and those that point to the lexical-grammatical practice by means of the activation of the previous knowledge of the reader. The passage of the text to the questionnaire is somewhat abrupt, and the organization of the questions is disorderly. The lack of slogans that indicate the purpose of reading does not contribute to the reader being able to adjust his strategies accordingly. Duchastel (1979:100, cited by Irwin, 1996: 88) points out that when student-readers are aware of the objectives of their task, they can do it more effectively and process the information differently according to the type of task they expect. The exercises analyzed in the 1980s do not take into account that a clear purpose and adequate strategies are extremely important components when designing comprehension activities.

What type of reader would then involve such textbooks? Indisputably a passive-receptive reader who complies with the author's message as the only one possible transmitted by the text; Reads with the primary purpose of perfecting his pronunciation in English and acquiring more vocabulary and grammatical structures; Is limited to a linear reading without performing any interpretation and without performing any type of discovery in what it reads; he does not construct his own meaning based on what he reads, does not create his own ideas, does not solve problems and does not take decisions, which does not allow him to refine his vision and knowledge of the world.

Through the analysis of textbook reading activities for teaching English – in the case of this study, those used in the 1980s – it is possible to see how the cognitive processes necessary to achieve a good reading comprehension are conditioned in a foreign language. This study has presented only the results corresponding to the analysis of textbooks of the decade of the 80s, through which it has been possible to see that it was limited to the reader in the development of strategies to be independent, interactive and critical. Although these conclusions emerge from the decade analyzed, they are also useful for reflecting on the teacher-student / textbook reader interaction in the current context, taking into account the teacher's responsibility to evaluate the activities that textbooks present in order to adapt, modify, complement or replace the material with the objective of supporting the formation of autonomous and reflective readers.

Textbooks in Romania

Regarding the subjects admitted to textbooks, they are subtle ways of selection and interpretation. When 1960, as expected, the most critical: there is still a need to legitimize the new regime (resistance to forced collectivization and the process of formation of an intelligentsia own), while the literature years building socialism He had to get up on the basis of creation of predecessors.

Legitimizing communist regime meant that this was not one imposed from geopolitical necessity, but a natural product of Romanian society in a time of crisis. Following processes to legitimize the party was what generally is called "invention ancestors" (Boia, 1999)

Regarding the didactic canon, writings also penetrated especially in the first years after the education reform, but although the 70 and 80 production of literature of this kind fell, became marginal or was redirected manual retains at least in terms of prose texts representative of the genre

Canon teacher, opened in 1969, closes again – and finally – in 1977; the phenomenon is on the one hand recognition of the eminently conservative of this canon, on the other hand refusing a reorganization of hierarchies, or rather validating their battles canonical / policy on contemporary literature ceases to be worn in hand, limited the other areas of public event (eg literary magazines) – this was the case of proto-chronism that, although touched areas of education such as the teaching of history, it has not affected the decisive, because does nothing to nationalist line continue existing, compromising and strengthening his work.

Regarding the Ceausescu Romanian culture (Humanitas, 1994), Katherine Verdery considers a conflict between proto-chronist and wing reformist as having the centre disputing power in the literary world, the authority to impose value and control the production of literature and conducted exclusively within the cultural elite not in the table. regarding teaching Romanian literature, however if proto-chronism brought something with him, was a change in tone, emphasis elements of nationalism and superiority of Romanian culture, but these were trends become visible since the time of Gheorghiu Dej removal to Moscow in the late 50s.

In general, teaching was a critical amount of common areas / the claims (critical) generally accepted in connection with a work or author. Not quite the same for contemporary literature, where hierarchies are emerging, critical consensus is harder to achieve. In addition, custom required (and made it to the introduction of alternative textbooks) monographic treatment including authors in full creative activity – leading to important changes from a hand to another, depending on the evolution of each literary writer.

Therefore, the approach of a writer depends vocation critical authors of textbooks (while the text could reach the canon teaching in the very year of the first occurrence), the moment in the creation of that author overlapped critical analysis (factor less important books of 1977 and 1980, which includes new authors or occurrences recent writers present already becoming classical and contemporary literature represented stopping at 1970), and, very importantly, ideological orientation given to every text.

Thus there are two ways that political factors act on the canon of teaching: in selecting canonical authors (negative selection: determining who could be part of the official hierarchy, and a positive one: impose automatic inclusion of writers, based on performance of other than literary) and critical interpretation of texts in the line of political correctness. And this political correctness, communist ideology was circulated literature textbooks in both its dimensions: discourse (language of wood) and conceptual (reading key texts socialist morality).

In English textbooks of that period, the lexical material exceeds the mergers, mixing stable idioms and recognizing them as expressions of theoretical lexicography. Leaving aside the fact that there are several classifications of expressions that these classifications are often contradictory and that the assignment expressions categories (the selection) is not always nor scientific nor conquests, it seems particularly appropriate to emphasize the importance for a phraseology bilingual dictionary, for example, where a word has any combination all held in a comparable but not identical, to the word (simple or compound one).

3.2 Post 1989 EFL textbooks

Textbooks represent in Romania one of the most faithful allies for the teaching of foreign languages. Whether the "authoritarian" knowledge imposed by the textbook, the method proposed, or sometimes the lack of confidence that some teachers show when it comes to discerning the grammatically correct from the wrong, the truth is that the textbook supposes an unconditional support both for the teachers – because they focus their disciplinary knowledge around certain subjects while saving in time and resources – as for the students – because it gives them a global vision of the language as well as an organization of content adapted to a level.

In a context of non-immersion, where neither teachers nor students have access to the language being studied, students' learning needs and preferences must prioritize according to the cultural time of the moment. In order to meet this requirement, publishers renew their educational publications in successive editions of both prestigious series of manuals and emerging materials that arise through new technologies and try to meet those needs. These include activities or online exercises of all kinds to practice grammar, vocabulary, prepositions, connectors, listening, etc .; Open resources such as dictionaries, thesauri or translators, as well as interactive games for didactic or linguistic purposes. Due to these factors, simultaneous editions appear more and more frequently given the rapidity and constant change of the environment.

Therefore, a textbook capable of combining content to the level required by educational standards, thematic attractive to the target audience, effective methodology, topical and functional but captivating design will have the basic ingredients of an exceptional cocktail.

Diachronic Perspective

The textbook as main teaching material in the foreign language class has gone through different phases almost always linked to the teaching methodology of the avant-garde in each era. In this respect, in order to describe the historical perspective of the textbook, it is necessary to speak about the different trends in language teaching. One of the first methods to learn a foreign language is the traditional approach that was developed especially during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This method was governed by the teaching of grammatical rules, translation, and took literary texts only as support. Therefore, the manuals used at this time constituted relatively thick volumes, given the expansion of each literary text; they hardly had images, graphics or tables, and colour, in most cases, was not part of them. Opposing this methodology, the direct method later appeared, in which it was intended that all instruction of the language be made in the foreign language. Within this method, the inference of meaning given a context became the most developed skill. The manuals during this period promoted the use of the target language, including, for example, exercises to identify the words of a sentence according to its grammatical category – verb, noun – or vocabulary exercises according to its definition. The methods described above – a traditional and direct approach – lacked oral production in the foreign language. Trying to save this criticism and given the boom in cassettes and VHS tapes, the audio-lingual method emerged. The textbooks with this educational approach included complementary auditory material – with repetitive activities – and visual, with activities to develop before and after the visualization of the content. The opinion of the experts was positive for the innovation, although it is possible to emphasize that the productions contained very controlled language being unnatural and the context of the communicative situations that presented was not very representative of the reality, when showing only a social class considered an exemplary model of good communication. The result was that students had difficulty transferring what they learned to their communicative needs from everyday life.

As a consequence, the communicative method emerged – one of the most used in current manuals -, whose objective is to teach the functional language necessary for daily communication. It is based, above all, on promoting the use of the language by creating communicative situations where the student needs to practice the language both on an oral level – listening and speaking – and on a written level – reading and writing. This method attempts to encompass all aspects of language by providing a holistic approach to it. With the advent of the digital age, a considerable amount of additional material supplements each manual. In addition to videos from different parts of the world to cover various accents of the foreign language, the manuals usually include activities whose development is done through the computer being very numerous games, but also links to online resources such as dictionaries, websites for Expand the content studied in the manual, or practical activities to review vocabulary, grammar, or even resources to improve pronunciation or writing in the foreign language. It is now becoming the main adversary of these manuals the time limitation to be able to cover all the contents provided.

Briefly, one will explain the fundamentals of the aforementioned theories, namely: English Vocabulary Profile, Bloom taxonomy, and principles of visual composition.

English Vocabulary Profile

Firstly, the English Vocabulary Profile is characterized by being a database that allows to verify the level of dominance of a word according to its meaning. It is an initiative supported by the Council of Europe and based on two corpus of data: Cambridge Learner Corpus and Cambridge English Corpus. The first one collects data from official exams written by students of English as a foreign language worldwide, as well as lists of vocabulary for exams and materials for the class. The second includes oral and written data of current native speakers. The main feature of the English Vocabulary Profile is that it shows what students know, not what they should know. This fact is important since the difference between the knowledge demanded by the official standards and the true reality of the student's learning are sometimes very distant. Hence it is necessary to verify that the subjects proposed by textbooks at a given level correspond to the actual level of learning.

Bloom Taxonomy

Bloom's taxonomy (1956) exposes a cognitive scale on six levels of information processing as required by the complexity of the type of skill demanded. This scale has a hierarchical relationship because each level is assimilated by the next, and successively. The levels included in the scale are: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The scale also divides between Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). The first three levels correspond to the lower order skills – knowledge, understanding and application – while the remaining three correspond to higher order skills – analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The scale was later revised by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001:78) including two fundamental changes: the passage from nouns to verbs in the denomination of scale levels, and the change in the order of the last two levels. The taxonomy was as follows: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create. Since the verbal form is easier to identify in the statement provided by textbook exercises and activities, the revised taxonomy is used in the study to classify the cognitive complexity of such tasks. The division between lower and upper order skills is reflected in the way of expressing the statement of the activity to be developed.

Principles of visual composition

The theory of visual composition, developed by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006: 36), is based on the concept of multimodality, which considers interaction in various ways – such as texts, images or exercises within A textbook – to create an integrated meaning. The theory of visual composition consists of three principles: the value of information, prominence and framing.

Within the principle of information value there are three axes around which information will be represented: the horizontal axis, the vertical axis and the centre-periphery binomial. The first one distributes the elements of a visual composition – for example, a page of a textbook, either digitally or in paper – in columns. The items on the left will be the information already known, while those on the right correspond to the new information. The vertical axis has the elements at the top, forming the ideal information, and at the bottom, representing the real information. The authors of the theory emphasize that "tasks or exercises in textbooks are usually found in the bottom section of a page" (2006:45). The fundamental reason is that the exercises represent for the student the reality, that which he is asked to perform. Finally, the centre-periphery distribution places one or several elements in a centre, granting them the highest prominence of the composition and the rest of elements to its surroundings, in the margins. According to the authors, there is a "relatively low frequency of centre-periphery compositions in contemporary Western culture" (2006: 197), therefore no patterns of this distribution are expected in the selected samples.

The second principle of visual composition theory is prominence, which involves prioritizing one element above the others. Kress and van Leeuwen define five major factors, including culture, which influence prominence (2006:22): size, focus definition, contrast of tone, colour contrast, and perspective. Finally, the third principle of the visual composition is the framing, which indicates the continuity or discontinuity of the elements of a composition. In general, there are two resources to mark that continuity or discontinuity: the boxes and the vectors. The function of the first is to separate some element, either to highlight the element in question or to isolate some information that is not directly related to the main theme of the composition. In addition, if a box is heavily marked, it will intensify that discontinuity. The function of the vectors is to direct the reader's gaze towards certain elements of the composition. Vectors can be explicit, represented as lines, or implicit, represented in absentia.

Once defined the concepts of visual composition, it should be noted that in the same composition it is not necessary to appear all the elements mentioned above. Moreover, in most compositions one distribution predominates over the other, or there is a combination of some of them. Therefore, it is necessary an adaptation by the reader to each visual composition.

Components of Post 1989 textbooks

The school textbook involves two components: texts and extra textual components. The texts include the knowledge and activities that must be assimilated by the students; The extra textual components have the function to organize the assimilation of the content of teaching and facilitate its understanding and practical use. Both textbooks and extra textual components occupy a place close to the cusp. The structural subsystem called text consisting of basic text, supplementary text and clarifying text, as specified below:

The basic text includes the theoretical-cognitive texts and instrumental texts; These are characterized as follows: The cognitive-theoreticians have as their dominant function the presentation of the information. Its contents are:

1) the main terms and the language of a specific sphere of scientific knowledge that represents a given teaching subject;

2) key concepts and their definitions;

3) the main facts;

4) the characteristics of fundamental laws, regularities and their consequences;

5) the reflection of the main theories;

6) the characteristics of the development of the guiding ideas and of the directions perspectives in a certain branch of knowledge;

7) the basic materials to form an emotional-axiological attitude to the world;

8) generalizations and ideological assessments and about the conception of the world;

9) the conclusions and the summary. The practical-instrumental texts play a predominantly transformative role (application of knowledge) and its contents are:

the characteristics of the methods of activity necessary to assimilate the teaching material and independently obtain the knowledge;

the characteristics of the principles and rules of application of knowledge;

the characteristics of the fundamental methods of knowledge in a given branch of knowledge, including applied methods;

the description of the tasks, exercises, experiences, experiments and situations necessary to deduce the rules and generalities to assimilate the theoretical-cognitive information;

the elaboration of the set of exercises, tasks, experiments and independent works necessary to form the complex of basic skills;

the characteristics of the ideological, moral and aesthetic standards necessary for activity in a given sphere;

the characteristics of the logical operations and of the necessary procedures to organize the process of assimilation of the theoretical-cognitive information;

abstracts and special sections, which systematize and integrate the teaching material;

the special elements of a text that serve to consolidate and even generalize repetition of teaching material.

The complementary texts are those whose main function is to reinforce and deepen the postulates of the basic text; its elements are:

1) documents;

2) anthological materials;

3) fragments of scientific-popular literature and memories;

4) literary descriptions and narratives;

5) notes or calls;

6) bibliographical and scientific information;

7) statistical summaries, including tables;

(8) all sorts of lists, relationships, principal detailed features of phenomena and concepts which give a general picture of events;

9) supplementary information materials (beyond the curriculum frameworks).

The explanatory text whose main function is to serve the comprehension and complete assimilation of the teaching material allowing the organization and realization of the independent cognitive activity of the students. It has as elements:

1) introduction to the textbook or its different parts and chapters;

2) observations, notes and clarifications;

3) glossaries;

4) alphabets;

5) indices;

6) feet maps, diagrams, charts, diagrams, graphs and other types of graphic illustrations;

7) tables of formulas, systems of units, coefficients, elements and summaries of norms;

8) index (relation) of the conventional signs adopted in a given sphere of knowledge;

9) Index of abbreviations used in the textbook.

Textual production

1) Oral texts: Intonation and articulation include: Mental procedures (classification, hierarchy, comparison, definition, analysis, synthesis, part-whole, cause-consequence, problem-solution); Structure, lexical level, aesthetic sense and context of texts; the clear and sure expression, significant competence, textual production, logical relations in discourse, cognitive processes, symbolic and cultural exchanges, communication, interaction, conception of language, meaning and communication, communicative skills

2) Written texts: Strategies for its elaboration; Relations between thought, language and reality; Textual plans (prewriting); Mental procedures; Structure, lexicon, aesthetic sense and context of texts; Search, organize and store information; Textual competence, textual production, logical relations in discourse, cognitive processes, descriptive text.

Textual interpretation.

It includes: Strategies for searching, organizing and storing information; Means of mass communication and selection of the information they emit, to be used in the creation of texts; Various interpretations of the same text or communicative act, based on hypotheses of understanding and on symbolic, ideological, cultural or encyclopaedic competences; Semantic and syntactic structures; Logical relations between the units of meaning of texts and those of communicative acts; Textual mechanisms for coherence and cohesion; Similarities and differences between the types of texts and communicative acts, in meanings, structures and contexts.

Aesthetics of language.

It includes: characterization of the operation of some nonverbal codes; relationship between literature and education.

Other symbolic systems.

They include: Elaboration of reading hypotheses about the relations between the constituent elements of a literary text and between this and the context.

Ethics of communication.

Including: knowledge and analysis of the elements, roles, relationships and basic rules of communication, to infer; interpretation., selection and use of information emitted by the media; the intentions of the participants in communicative acts; the basic rules of communicative acts; cultural productions of the community and their social function.

Basic practical texts – instrumental:

Including: presentation of elements that help organize, synthesize or relate information; proposition of learning activities and ways of identifying learning achievements.

Explanatory. Glossary of topics and concepts.

Complementary. Literary texts and other texts that contribute to:

• the full development of the personality with no limitations other than those imposed by the rights of others and the legal order, within a process of integral formation, physical, psychic, intellectual, moral, spiritual, social, affective, ethical and civic .

• training in respect for life and other human rights; to peace;

• democratic principles of coexistence, pluralism, justice, solidarity and equity; To the exercise of tolerance and freedom;

• training to facilitate the participation of all in the decisions that affect them in the economic, political, administrative and cultural life of different nations;

• training in respect of legitimate authority and law, culture, history and different symbols;

• the acquisition and generation of the most advanced scientific, technical, humanistic, historical, social, geographic and aesthetic knowledge, by appropriating adequate intellectual habits for the development of knowledge;

• the study and critical understanding of the national culture and the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country as the foundation of national unity and identity;

• access to knowledge, science, technology and other goods and values ​​of culture, promotion of research and encouragement of artistic creation in its various manifestations;

• the creation and promotion of an awareness of national sovereignty and the practice of solidarity and integration with the world;

• the development of critical, reflective and analytical capacity to strengthen national scientific and technological progress, with priority for cultural improvement and the quality of life of the population, participation in the search for alternatives to solve problems and to the social and economic progress of the country;

• the acquisition of a conscience for the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment, the quality of life, the rational use of natural resources, disaster prevention, an ecological and risk culture and the defence of cultural heritage;

• training in the practice of work, through technical knowledge and skills, as well as in the evaluation of the same as the foundation of individual and social development;

• training for the promotion and preservation of health and hygiene, comprehensive prevention of socially relevant problems, physical education, recreation, sport and proper use of leisure time

• promotion in the person and society of the capacity to create, research, adopt the technology required in the country's development processes and allow the student to enter the productive sector.

Apparatus for the organization of assimilation.

It is proposed to organize the work of the study material by articulating it, as appropriate, to the following axes: processes of construction of systems of signification; processes of interpretation and production of texts; cultural and aesthetic processes associated with language: the role of literature; principles of interaction and cultural processes associated with the ethics of communication; processes of thought development. Likewise, the direction of work by projects and the evaluation of learning by processes are indicated, indicating the categories for the analysis of reading comprehension and for the analysis of written texts in the context of evaluation. Also, it includes the need to work the text as a unit of analysis and, from there, to approach minor elements (sentence, word, syllable, spelling) to construct new texts, of the treatment of situations problematic integrally and with diverse optics; the proposal of communicative activities and activities to discover the purposes and purposes of writing; the presentation of multiple and attractive approaches to literary texts.

Illustrative material.

Including: use of readable letter, adequate distribution of spaces; presentation of clear and student-like illustrations, well printed, well distributed. illustrative material attractive; motivating and driving force.

Orientation device.

Including: Presentation of the authors and their biographical reviews; the year of copyright and ISBN registration; the table of contents; Information on the names of the evaluating team and the investigators who tested the text; Clear structure; Bibliography consulted and recommended.

Content material support

Processing material. tough binding, good quality paper, pleasing to the touch; easy to browse; with beautiful pictures

Format. easy handling size by the students.

It is possible to conceptualize that the textbook is a sub-genre of the manual school genre of the subdiscipline of scientific dissemination of the scientific functional style, and that its purpose is to serve as a medium to the teaching-learning process.

CHAPTER IV.

USING THE EFL TEXTBOOK FOR INTERMEDIATE LEVEL STUDENTS

4.1. An investigation of students’ and teachers’ view about the use of EFL textbook for intermediate level students

The present research is based on data analysis method since I have used questionnaires to gather the information I need it for my paper. Both teachers and students have completed a questionnaire about the use of EFL textbook for intermediate level students. The study has been conducted in order to find out information on:

-students’ and teachers’ attitude towards the English textbook

-effective use of a particular English textbook at the class

– implications on student performance through the use of a certain English textbook

The reason why I have chosen the questionnaire as a method of investigation is because it is , in my opinion, the most effective instrument for gathering data. I have designed two sets of questionnaires in order to investigate the students’ and teachers’ opinions about the use of EFL textbook for intermediate level students. The study has been conducted among high-school students. Hopefully, the whole research will serve as a source of reference for teachers since they are mainly involved in the process of selecting a textbook for the benefit of their students.

4.2 Methodology

1. Presenting the researched aspect

The present research is designed to investigate the effective use of textbook as a teaching resource, at high school level.

The textbook as a material that is used in teaching influences a lot in it, therefore, some of the most important decisions of the teacher have to be done with the didactic material. In the last decades, there has been a change in the way the teaching material is viewed, and in choosing the material, the teacher is no longer so controlled by curricula. In other words, the freedom of the teacher has increased, something that implies more opportunities, but also being demanded of the teacher. According to the curriculum, the teacher has a lot of freedom in selecting the material, but how does the teacher know what are the most important aspects to take into account when choosing materials? What are the determining factors for students to have an interest in teaching English?

Varanoglulari et al. (2008:410) argue that the material should make students have a positive attitude towards teaching, and Skolverket (2006b: 93) argues that most teachers believe that it is important for materials to generate student interest. Yet teachers often use materials that do not seem good enough. Another problem posed by Skolverket (2011: 9) is that there are currently a large number of students who do not complete their studies of English or another modern language, so it is important to look for solutions so that more students continue with their language studies. Skolverket (2006a: 4) expresses that the teacher has to increase the learning interest of the student, and according to the course programs (Skolverket, 2000a, 2000b) students will work with topics related to their interests. For all of the above, it seems fundamental to find out about factors about materials that influence the interest of students in teaching. The teacher's knowledge of students' attitudes and thoughts toward teaching materials should be positive for learning, so I want to include students in this study.

The contribution of the present work is to provide more information on how pedagogues can choose and use different types of materials to increase and maintain interest in learning English of their students. As a teacher, one believes it is important to obtain information about what he/ she can do to facilitate the learning of the students.

2. State of the research problem

Reviewing the ideas of Akst and Hecht, David Nunan (1992: 192) has argued that

"One can take the position that the objectives of a program are not open to question, since they are presumably the premises on which the rest of the program is based. Occasionally, however, an evaluator may make an exception with goals that appear to be misdirected or unrealistic. "

From the specifications about the student to which a manual is addressed (information that includes most of the language manuals) can be inferred the objectives of the latter, but obviously this is not the best way to reach such important information at the time to select a textbook for a group of students with specific characteristics. It is important that the objectives of the manual and its activities are also explained and that it is done in a concrete way. The objectives of the activities should be in line with those of the manual as a whole and both to the needs of the student.

The intentions of the author of a textbook appear in many cases in the covers or in a kind of prologue or introduction, if not in the didactic guide of the teacher; More difficult, however, is to determine if they fit the objectives that each center of studies poses for its students. It is not our intention to evaluate in this work the adaptation of the manuals to the context of any particular teaching center, but rather to observe if they fit the general needs and characteristics of an adult English-speaking or an English-speaking student.

The editorial requirements of commercial type promote "consumables" textbooks by a large number of users, which makes it obviate the particular needs of different types of students and that undermine the effectiveness of the activities in these books. This is a fact increasingly commented by the pedagogues, so an analysis of the manuals of pronunciation of English that does not consider the economic aspect of these would necessarily be removed from the school reality.

To return now to the methodological edge of the objectives in English as a foreign language pronunciation manuals, let us look at the hierarchy that in the teaching of this aspect of the language establishes Martha C. Pennington (1996: 220): "Probably the most obvious goal , Justifiable and pressing in the area of ​​phonology is intelligibility. For beginner students, it is the most immediate need since there can be no communication without a certain level of mutual intelligibility among the speakers (…) Beyond the basic objective of intelligibility there are several possible objectives in this area of ​​language ( …) Fluency is an important goal for many students who will leave their home country and use the second language in the country where they go, since it is very possible that too hesitant speakers have difficulty communicating with native listeners during certain weather. Correction ("accuracy") for standards determined by listeners is also an important objective, especially for those who have to transmit information to native speakers, as is the case of teaching assistants in undergraduate courses, supervisors or who has to speak to customers by telephone in the foreign language. "

3. Research objectives

The purpose of the survey was to assess students’ and teachers perception regarding the English textbook, the reasoning behind them, and their attitudes towards English classes. Specific objectives of the survey were to identify:

student perceptions regarding the use of textbooks

means students use to access reading materials

The factors associated with the frequency of use of the textbook

At least 15 variables associated with the frequency of use of texts among students in practice were identified. Of these, 6 are the most significant, in order of importance:

The intention of use by the teacher

The school's own experience in using a certain type of textbook

Clarity regarding the objectives of the initiative of using a certain type of textbook

The school in which students study

The intention of use a certain type of textbook by the supervising teacher

The availability of textbooks for the students of the level in the classroom

One of the variables mentioned is direct and immediate management by the people in charge of the initiative: Clarity regarding the objectives of the initiative; while two others could be addressed in the context of the initiative: the intention of use by the teacher; the intention of use by the teacher supervising and the availability of textbooks for students. Only 2 of the 6 main factors transcend the possibilities of intervention of the initiative: The own school experience in use of textbooks and the school in which they study.

The school experience itself in the use of textbooks: There is a tendency to use a certain type of textbook more frequently as the students in their primary and secondary education teachers made use of textbooks. The students in high school whose teachers made them use textbooks, now use them with high or very high frequency more than twice that those who were never stimulated to use them in basic or average education. There is also a tendency to use textbooks more frequently among those teachers who perceived that their teachers used them more frequently in their primary and secondary education. They also use them with high or very high frequency in almost double the cases compared to the group in which they did not perceive this use by their teachers.

Clarity regarding the objectives of the initiative: The greater the perception of clarity of the initiative objectives is, the more frequent use of a certain type of textbooks by students in high school. Students in high school who claim to be clear about the use of the text during this stage declare more than twice the frequency of high or very high usage compared with those who claim to have received the textbooks only as a gift, with no condition of use.

4. Hypothesis

From my experiences in the EFL classroom, I have observed that the didactic material does not seem to be sufficiently capable to stimulate interest in learning. Students often do not understand why or why they should work with a certain material, and therefore they think it is boring. A preliminary hypothesis is that the didactic material used by the teachers in the EFL classroom does not encourage the motivation of the studies of the subject since it does not contain subjects that are of personal interest to the students. For this reason, I also consider that it is not sufficiently capable of responding to students' concerns.

5. Describing the research

Since it is the personal interests of the students who have interested me, it is the students themselves who have participated in my study, together with a group of 5 teachers.

Population

The examined group consisted of a total of 100 pupils, boys and girls, all studying at high school level at Colegiul Național Vocațional Nicolae Titulescu in Slatina, Olt county, Xth and XIth grade. The other part of the examined group is represented by 5 teachers in our school.

Sample

100% boys and girls, students at Colegiul Național Vocațional Nicolae Titulescu in Slatina, Olt county served as sample for the study. Subjects have normal intellectual development and different academic results. Questionnaire for students was attended by 100 students.

The sample is contained therein the school age 16-18 years old whereas in terms of psychosocial development, “the growing independence leads first thoughts on identity” (Cosmovici 1999: 46), and in terms of cognitive development view, at this age "increases children’s mental ability to analyze and to test deductive assumptions”. (Cosmovici, 1999: 46).

Besides these purely psychological reasons, there was taken into account the fact that students’ classes in discussion are studying English since the IInd grade, having, at the moment, a total of four hours a week.

6. Data Collection

Data Collection

The questionnaire was personally administered to high school level students of Colegiul Național Vocațional Nicolae Titulescu in Slatina. Data were collected back after respondents’ completion.

Data Analysis

Collected data were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted and presented at the end of the present research.

Questionnaire with opened, closed and mixed questions represented the main instrument of the present research, being used for collecting the data. The questionnaires were validated by specialists and the first one was developed for students of Colegiul Național Vocațional Nicolae Titulescu in Slatina, while the second one, for teachers of the same educational unit.

The questionnaire is characterized by anonymity and it was applied to the whole group at once, not individually, to give subjects a setting where they feel protected at this age – own entourage.

4.3 Data analysis

7. Processing and interpretation of research data

Analysis of the results regarding the research developed for students

Analyzing the results of the present research, starting with the first question, one could observe that 80% of the respondents gave a positive answer, while 20% of them said that they do not like how the English class unfolds.

Talking about the possession of an English textbook, of the 100 respondents, only 5 gave negative answers. In this respect, one may consider that those five respondents either do not have financial possibilities or they are not interested in English class. In order to improve this aspect, the English teacher will make five photocopies to her textbook from her own funds and she will give them to those five children.

Being questioned about the way children of high school get along with their classmates, 70 said that they have a good relation, 9 of them considered that they have best friends among their classmates, while 8 children recognized that they fight sometimes. At the opposite pole there were 4 respondents saying that they do not care about their colleagues and 2 of them do not even know the names of their classmates. Also, there were 7 students who did not give an answer.

Being interviewed about the most enjoyed activity during the English class, 50 students preferred to watch documentary movies without subtitle, 35 respondents said that they would like to listen to audio tales, while 10 of them enjoy completing worksheets. Of all respondents, only 5 enjoyed to correct the homework.

Regarding the collaboration between students and their English teacher, 66% of the respondents agreed its level is a good one. At the opposite, 2% of them considered that they have an unsatisfactory collaboration.

Being interviewed about what they would like to improve, 52% of students considered that school’s material basis needs a melioration, while only 6% agreed that their English teacher’s behaviour towards them should be improved. In this regard, both school and teacher will make efforts in order to offer students a more effective pedagogical framework, also including an effective manner of using the English textbook.

At activity level, in students’ opinion, there are many types of activities that the English teacher should organize. This way, children would prefer a trip to England (36%), thematic days (28%), smart board activities (15%), training for different English contests (12%) and bingo games (9%). In pupils’ opinion, is essential the English teacher to be very creative and close to their needs.

On a scale from 1 to 10, 94 respondents evaluated at the maximum values (9 and 10) their English teacher’s efficiency in teaching, while 6 students evaluated at medium values (7 and 8). In this respect, one may observe that the English teacher is effective, but sometimes, he/ she may need to improve his/ her way of teaching.

When secondary school students were asked about their textbook, 70 of them considered it is complete and very useful, but 23 of them said that it has both interesting stories and difficult exercises. From all 100 respondents, 7 of them considered the textbook to be hard to understand, having a lot of pages.

In high school students’ opinion, the best aspect about English class is that the English teacher uses innovative methods (55%). Also, 23% of the students agreed that they can learn English, a percentage of 13% considered that English exercises in the textbook stimulates their creative potential and only 9% think that they can learn about new cultures.

The majority of interviewed high school students (41) considered that nothing is worst about English classes. Different from them, 35 students agreed that time is too short and 24 complained about the multitude of grammar exercises in the textbook and about the existence of noise in the classroom.

Among the given aspects, the one considered to be the most positive about the English class was that of the use of new and varied teaching methods (25 answers), followed by that regarding the fact that students are involved in evaluation (18 answers). 16 answers were given for methodically well-trained teacher and for optimal conditions for lessons. 14 students appreciate the existence of come extracurricular activities, while 11 responses were given for scientifically well-trained teacher. Neither of the students gave another option.

Analyzing if students consider that their communicative abilities were improved on the strength of English class activities, including the work with the textbook, 48 of them agreed that they improved to a very great extent, 35 – to a great extent, 10- to a satisfactory extent, 5- to a small extent and 2- not at all. In this context, the English teacher will try to integrate those 2 children in other groups where they can achieve important information as others can do, while for the others, the professor will improve their abilities by means of different class and extracurricular activities.

Regarding students’ English knowledge after doing exercises and learning grammar aspects in their textbook, most of them appreciate it at a very good level (60 respondents). The rest of them consider to know English at an excellent level, 18, at a good one, while 9 of them, at a satisfactory one. At the same time, one student does not know English language. For him and for those who know English language at a satisfactory level, the English teacher will propose a thorough study, aiming them to achieve an improvement in their knowledge.

For a percentage of 52% of students, listening and conversation seem to be the most interesting exercises of an English textbook. Also, grammar and vocabulary exercises are preferred by 44% of secondary school students, while 4% do not know what answer to give about the most interesting part of the English textbook.

Analyzing the most appropriate teaching methods, educational games are the winner with 30 answers. At the opposite, there is dictation with only 8 answers. In this respect, one may observe that children prefer innovative methods instead traditional ones.

Talking about English teaching, most of the students considered that their English teacher do not have outdated methods (86%). So, it is clear that the English teacher from the …….High School in Slatina, Olt county has an innovative style of teaching, based on creativity and student’s- centered.

During leisure, the majority of students use English language often enough (65%), 24% of them use it rare, while 7% use it daily and 4%, never.

60 of the interviewed respondents are 17 years old, 25 of them are 16 years old and 15 of them are 18 years old. In this respect, one may observe that they study in Xth and XIth grade.

58 students who were interviewed during the English class study in the Xth grade, while other 42 respondents study in the XIth grade.

Talking about interviewed student’s gender, 54 of them were girls, while 46 were boys.

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS REGARDING THE RESEARCH DEVELOPED FOR TEACHERS

Evaluation on textbook

Regarding the evaluation of the textbook, the layout and design are attractive and easy to read in the perception of 3 of the 4 teachers. The content will be embodied in a textbook that will combine theory with practice, which will allow teacher to instruct, develop skills and contribute with ideas, through the applied methods during classes.

Regarding the instructions in the textbook, they are always clearly stated in the perception of 3 teachers, while one of them considers this aspect only sometimes. The instructions one observe in a textbook are not the same as those of a magazine, much less that of a catalogue. Addressing different topics depends largely on how information is organized to reach the learner.

Evaluating of the textbook, all of the interviewed teachers consider that topics and tasks are interesting and motivating. The content requires punctuating the clear and direct ideas that are in the theme of Editorial Design, reviewing simple concepts that start from a general idea. The content aims to reach learners with ideas focused by throwing brainstorms that allow them to visualize it and put it into practice. This way, teachers can ensure a much better job for later review and make proper use of the textbook’s elements.

In the opinion of 3 teachers, the subjects and content are always relevant to students’ needs. A fundamental aspect to be taken into account in a needs analysis is the specific situation to which the analysis is directed and the possibilities offered by it. In this context, external factors such as available resources (teachers, classrooms, time), materials and means of support, characteristics of teaching groups and the leeway of the language teacher within a given institutional context should be considered.

All of the interviewed teachers consider that there are periodic review and test section provided.

30% of the interviewed teachers consider that there is no plenty of the authentic language. The use of materials with authentic language is favourable for both students and teachers themselves. The teacher makes fun the way to learn from his students using new resources, which in traditional teaching, were unthinkable. Communication, interaction between students, as between student and teacher, the great diversity in the classroom, are prime factors to learn; and the materials consisting in authentic language make it easy for them.

Evaluating the textbook used at high school level, 3 teachers consider that there is an appropriate balance of the four language skills. These skills are also called "communicative skills." The use of the language can be made in 4 different ways depending on the role of the individual in the communication process, such as acting as the sender or receiver and also, according to the channel of transmission that we use, representative is the oral channel or the writing.

Regarding the pronunciation explanation and practice, they are suitably presented in the opinion of 3 teachers, while one of them considers this aspect to be non-valid.

100% of the teachers consider that vocabulary explanation and practice are clearly presented in the present textbook. Each individual uses in his daily communication a number of habitual words, would be his personal vocabulary. The language has a complex classification of words: verbs, names, articles, prepositions, adverbs, etc. On the other hand, every day new ideas and tendencies appear that turn into words. And so it is in all languages. The vocabulary is not something fixed and static, since it is constantly renewing and expanding. Using a broad and precise vocabulary is a good recipe for everyday life. It is not about knowing words as if students collected them. It is something simpler: vocabulary is the great tool of communication to deal with life.

Being an important part of students’ language development, grammar presentation and practice are clearly presented for all ten interviewed teachers. In this respect, teachers should take into consideration the following aspects:

textbooks that addresses some of the central areas of language education in high school

grammar as necessary content in the achievement of communicative and linguistic skills

the current curriculum, which sets and guides the type of language education expected in schools

the plurilingualism present in the curricula, which places the centers in the situation of having to simultaneously teach different languages to the same students

textbooks, as mediating instruments between the learner and the object of learning.

The textbook is accompanied by good audio cassettes, CDs, Supplementary materials and Teachers’ Guide, as all the teachers consider. To the textbook and supplementary material correspond the following didactic functions:

Informative. Presentation of all the information indicated by the program of the respective subject.

Transformer. In two senses: 1) didactic re-elaboration of the contents; 2) conversion of the purely cognitive activity of students into transformative activity

Systematizing. Exposition of the teaching material in a rigorous sequence systematized, so that the student dominates the procedures of the scientific systematization.

Consolidation and control. Contribution for the students to orient themselves in the acquired knowledge and to rely on him to realize the practical activity.

Self-preparation. Training students in the desire to learn and the ability to learn for themselves.

Integrator. Helping students to assimilate and select knowledge as a single whole.

Coordinator. Assurance of the most effective and functional use of all means of teaching and the use of mass media.

Developer and educator. Contribution to the active formation of the essential features of the harmonious and developed personality.

Roles of textbooks

As a primordial role, the textbook always serves as a syllabus for 3 teachers, while at the opposite pole there is no teacher disregarding it.

80% of teachers consider that the textbook is an instrument that helps planning daily instruction.

The textbook serves as a source of assessment items, as 3 teachers consider.

Also, in the opinion of all teachers, the textbook serves as a source of homework.

3 teachers consider the textbook to be an essential source for teachers. The textbook thus becomes for teachers the main source of their explanation, so that sooner or later their preparation is reduced to consulting one or another manual. The textbook is the front of basic information from which the teacher elaborates the scheme that serves as the basis for developing the explanation. This can be interpreted by saying that, ultimately, the teacher comes to be a manager of the information contained in the textbook. Something happens not without the resistance of the own teachers who, in competition with the interests of the students, seems to see in this phenomenon a significant bankruptcy of their professional identity and their position in the class.

3 teachers consider the textbook to be an essential source for learners.

All interviewed teachers consider that textbooks help teachers to teach English in an efficient manner.

Considering the textbook as a tool for exams preparation such as Bacalaureat, 2 teachers think that it is and it may be suitable in this respect.

Considering the textbook as a tool for other exams preparation such as IELTS or TOEFEL, three teachers think that it is suitable in this respect.

III.Teachers’ perceptions towards textbooks:

Regarding teachers’ perceptions towards textbooks, most of time, 3 of them teach exclusively from this teaching material.

Three teachers use the textbook as the only source for teaching materials.

All teachers fully understand the content presented in the textbook.

8. Conclusions.

The present work has focused on analyzing the lexical level provided in the textbooks studied, the skills presented and the visual composition of the samples. The English textbook has been used as instruments of analysis. After carrying out the research, it can be concluded that:

The analyzed textbook present, in a general way, a lexicon appropriate to the level published by its front and back covers, to a greater extent thanks to the publication of European standards in the knowledge of Foreign languages ​​such as the Common European Framework of Reference.

Most of the activities offered in the analyzed textbook show the practice of lower order skills, specifically understanding and applying skills, even though higher order skills are the most recommended to enhance student intelligence.

The most common visual composition of the lessons studied shows a high development around the horizontal axis, where the information already known by the student is located on the left side and new information on the right. In considerable numbers the mixed composition appears between the horizontal and vertical axis, the latter places the elements representing the ideal in the upper part and the real in the lower part. It is possible to emphasize the absence of compositions center-periphery due to its low frequency in certain countries.

Bearing in mind the impossibility of establishing generalizations based on the observation of the use of classroom texts for a number of such specific cases, few without representativeness, it is possible to state that for the purposes of this section of this study, the weakest performances regarding the use of textbook do not seem to be related to the institution, because deficient performances in this sense are transversally distributed, without being related to the dependence of the establishment or presence of the guide teacher of the course in the room. It is not possible to pronounce on the possible influence of the education cycle or subsector given the low number of cases. In contrast, the first cycle and subsector Language are more related to better uses of textbook in classroom, although it is necessary to consider that also in this subsector and cycle was represented by the largest number of observations.

The content of the textbook appears as conceptual input for the realization of the class and support of the reinforcement of teaching and learning, a type of guideline of action of these novice teachers.

It is interesting to note the fact that all cases in which it was possible to appreciate a more creative and appropriate use of the study text corresponding to the Language subsector and to the first cycle, a case of each institution.

The characteristics of the observed classes considered successful, given their pertinent and profitable use of the textbook had a clear structuring of the phases of the lesson and a planning according to the desired objectives. There was creative use of the textbook, with selection and modification of contents and activities in order to adapt to the educational context; without using the text throughout the class, only at the end and interspersed with other activities.

To illustrate the characteristics of a class with a little pertinent and scarcely profitable use of the textbook, three common factors are observed: total lack of planning, or planning based exclusively on school text, without selection, modification or inclusion of own or innovative elements; A tendency to use the text in its entirety and in the same sequence proposed in each unit and a frontal-type physical arrangement. The textbook is used from beginning to end during the class, using only the sequence of activities proposed by the text or completely disconnected from the learning context of learners. These cases are not associated with any subsector or cycle.

It does not seem to be determinant in the success of the class the purpose of the use of the textbook, as used both to work contents and activities and to promote the participation in classes, or with purpose of reinforcement of contents worked in class, were observed successful classes. Also, regardless of the purpose, classes were observed in which this purpose improperly implemented resulted in disorganization and low probability of learning.

Diversity is observed in the types of use of the text and its frequency. Some teachers are associated with a need to acquire security in content or knowledge that they perceive as deficient in their initial training, but also seem to associate their use with an intention to integrate with the dynamics and pedagogical routines of the school. Few students claim to appropriate the textbook to reconstruct their purpose in their own intentions and didactic actions.

By means of classroom observation, two types of text use are fundamentally identified, one more creative and the other closely related to the proposal of the text. In the use of more creative type, the teacher in practice successfully inserts other strategies or activities to those already proposed by the text of studies, even altering the sequence of this, and include games as a strategy for the achievement of learning. Uses are oriented to work contents, activities and encourage participation in classes, reinforce contents and assign tasks to perform at home. Undoubtedly, it is not possible to affirm that by itself the creative application of the textbook is a guarantee of success in the achievement of learning, nor of the assumption of a class as successful, however it does seem to be a determining factor for learning the planning carried out In agreement with the achievement of the objectives, since it was precisely this factor that was absent in cases in which the class in general was not considered successful, despite the creative incorporation of the use of school text. There is not a clear trend in the subsector, educational cycle, when creative use is observed.

In the use that follows the text proposal, the action refers to the implementation of activities using the exact sequence of the book, with the only purpose of working the contents and activities is to encourage the participation of students. There were also isolated cases that used the text in a way completely disconnected from the learning context and needs of the students or exclusively as reinforcement of the eventual learning. Which correspond to the types of tight and unbound use, with a type of class scarcely structured or planned in its entirety based on the textbook, and with the use of most of the resources of this one. There is no clear trend in the subsector or in the education cycle, but in the university, always considering the impossibility of generalizing given the low number of cases, and insisting on the need to assume it only as a reference based on a coincidence.

The most commonly used time of use for use of the text is before the class, to plan and prepare it and as a source of personal consultation. Most use it during the class, to facilitate the development of activities, or to facilitate the explanation of contents. These same uses and moments also appear as those most intended by practice supervisors, when there is an intention. In classroom observation, there is a tendency to use text throughout the class, making use of most of the classroom resources, and the second most frequently encountered moment is the end of the class. This could be interpreted as a discrepancy between speech and action, however the number of cases observed does not allow to indicate it only as a reference applicable only to the group observed.

There is a slightly higher reported use of textbook before and during class among students in a certain cycle of basic practice than those who practice in the middle or superior level, while first category use substantially more text after class, as homework, than middle level practitioners.

There is no difference in frequency of use before and during the class according to the practice sub-sector, except in the case of English, where the frequency of use is lower than in the other subsectors, although the significant number of cases studied in this subsector.

The vast majority uses only a few text resources, to the extent they are relevant to what they are dealing with, and / or that combines the use of texts with other resources. The proportion of students in practice who declares to follow the sequence proposed by him or to rely completely on the text to do his classes is observed very little, however, observed cases point to the opposite situation. This contradicts what was observed in the classroom, however, it is not possible to make generalizations based on the small number of cases observed.

One may observe heterogeneity in the declared modality of use of the text (individual work, pairs or group), and indicate that the modality of use is not associated with the availability of texts in the classroom, a situation that is corroborated in classroom observation.

There is no consensus regarding the use and effective use of the textbook by teachers. They divide between those who mention using only the text of the student and consider that the use of the teacher's guide can be dispensable, and those who value the use of the text. In the classroom observations for a third of the cases consultations were observed in the teacher's guide.

ANNEXES

STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE

Choose one response or complete the empty spaces with an appropriate one. The questionnaire has anonymous and the data below are necessary to a study. Thank you for your cooperation!

Do you like how the English class unfolds?

Yes

No

Do you have an English textbook?

Yes

No

How do you get along with your classmates?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

What activity do you enjoy most during the English lessons?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

How do you appreciate the collaboration between you and your English teacher?

Very good

Good

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

You are allowed to choose one or more answers. You would like to improve:

Your English teacher’s behaviour towards you

School’s material basis

The collaboration between you and the English teacher

The manner your teacher uses the textbook

What other activities would you like to be organized by your English teacher?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

On a scale from 1 to 10, how do you appreciate how effective your English teacher is?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

What do you think about your English textbook?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Which is the best aspect about English classes?

The English teacher uses innovative methods

I can learn English

I can learn about new cultures

English exercises in the textbook stimulates my creative potential

Other………………………………………….

Which is the worst aspect about English classes?

There are a lot of grammar exercises in the textbook

Time is too short

There is noise in the classroom

The textbook we use is not effective

Nothing

Other…………………………………………………

Among the aspects listed below, choose one that you believe is positive about the English class:

Methodically well-trained teacher

Scientifically well-trained teacher

The use of new teaching and varied methods

Students are involved in evaluation

Optimal conditions for lessons

The existence of some extracurricular activities

We use an efficient textbook in order to develop our creative potential

Do you consider that your communicative abilities improved on the strength of English classes’ activity, including the work with the textbook?

To a very great extent

To a great extent

To a satisfactory extent

To a small extent

Not at all

How do you appreciate you English knowledge after doing exercises and learning grammar aspects from the textbook you actually use during classes?

Excellent

Very good

Good

Satisfactory

I don’t know English language

Which seems to be the most interesting part of the English textbook?

Grammar and vocabulary

Listening and conversation

I don’t know

Which seems to be the most appropriate teaching methods? (multiple choices)

Dictation

Summarizing

Educational games

AEL (e-learning)

Documentation sheets

Practical works including exercises in the textbook

Do you consider the current English textbook is an outdated teaching material?

Yes

No

I don’t know

How often do you use English language during leisure?

Daily

Often enough

Rare

Never

How old are you?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

What grade are you in?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Are you a boy or a girl?

Boy

Girl

Thank you!

Teachers’ questionnaire

The aim of this questionnaire is to find out your views about the use of EFL textbook for intermediate level students. It is made up of 23 questions. Please note that there are no right or wrong answers. The information will be used by the undersigned, Osiac-Nedelea Carmen-Maria, in the paper The role of the textbook in teaching English to intermediate students. Please, write your name at the end of questionnaire, if you agree with this term. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation!

I. Evaluation on textbook

1. The layout and design is attractive and easy to read.

a) yes b)sometimes c) no

2. The instructions are clearly stated.

a) always b)sometimes c)never

3. The topics and tasks are interesting and motivating.

a)always b)sometimes c)never

4. The subjects and content are relevant to learners’ needs.

a)always b)sometimes c)never

5. There are periodic review and test sections provided.

a)yes b)no

6. There is plenty of authentic language.

a)yes b)no

7. There is an appropriate balance of the four language skills.

a)yes b)no

8. Pronunciation explanation and practice are suitably presented.

a) yes b) no

9. Vocabulary explanation and practice are clearly presented.

a) yes b) no

10. Grammar presentation and practice are clearly presented.

a)yes b)no

11.The textbook is accompanied by good audio cassettes, CDs, Supplementary materials and Teachers’ Guide.

a)yes b)no

II.Roles of textbooks

12.The textbook serves as a syllabus.

a) yes b) sometimes c) no

13. The textbook helps planning daily instruction.

a) yes b) sometimes b) no

14. The textbook serves as a source of assessment items.

a) yes b) sometimes b) no

15. The textbook serves as a source of homework.

a)yes b) sometimes c) no

16. The textbook serves as an essential source for teacher.

a) yes b) sometimes c ) no

17. The textbook serves as an essential source for learners.

a)yes b) sometimes c) no

18. The textbook helps teachers to teach English effectively.

a) yes b) sometimes c) no

19.It is suitable for exams preparation – Bacalaureat.

a)yes b) maybe c) no

20.It is suitable for other exams preparation : IELTS, TOEFEL etc.

a)yes b)maybe c)no

III.Teachers’ perceptions towards textbooks:

21. I teach exclusively from the textbook.

a) always b)most of the time c) very rarely

22. I use the textbook as the only source for teaching materials.

a) yes b)sometimes c) no

23. I fully understand the content presented in the textbook.

a) always b)not all the time b) never

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