Core Text Selection Criteria and Procedure.

Textbook Committee meeting 03/14/05. (Sally Beck, Patricia LiaBraaten, Karen Aranas, Tom Jakubowski, Sandy Barnard, Gary Roelofs, John Whitney)

A. Textbooks (or equivalent materials, such as periodicals) selected must be usable for most of the coursework in a given class. With this goal in mind, and to best meet the needs of our students and teachers, texts/materials should adhere as much as possible to the following criteria:

1. Extensive coverage of course outcomes and content.

2. Coverage of more than one level (e.g. B1 and B2 Listening & Speaking or B2 and C1).

3. Some awareness and coverage of EFF (Equipped for the Future), SCANS, or CASAS outcomes.

4. Availability of accompanying supplemental materials (cassettes, videos, CDs, transparencies, black-line masters, websites, etc.)

5. Inclusion of a variety of communicative activities (in which students are given meaningful tasks to accomplish by using authentic language).

6. Inclusion of additional activities for practice and consolidation (e.g. an accompanying workbook with answer key).

7. Integration of the target skills (i.e. reading + writing or listening + speaking) in levels A through C. (Texts/materials for courses in level D, E, and F may be for discreet skills).

8. Aesthetic appeal: uncluttered layout, design that includes white space, illustrations.

9. Low cost, or publisher willing to give sizeable discount for large orders.

10. Availability of a “teacher-friendly” instructor’s manual with suggestions for less experienced instructors.

B. The process for selecting core texts/materials for ESL classes for the 2005-2006 academic year is as follows:

Step 1: Selecting “candidate” texts/materials. At their level meetings, instructors will identify up to 3 texts/materials which seem to meet most of the criteria above. Some new books brought back from the recent TESOL conference are on display in the Resource Room (22-102). If no recommendations are submitted to the committee, then the current texts will be reordered for fall 2005

Names of candidate books should be submitted in writing (email is fine) to John Whitney (whij@chemeketa.edu) by April 15, 2005.

Step 2: Review & comment period. After April 15, these selected texts/materials will be displayed in the Resource Library in Building 22. Instructors are invited to examine all the texts/materials, especially those for classes contiguous to the ones they teach for general suitability and inter-level continuity. Instructors are asked to submit written comments and preferences by April 30, 2005. (Review forms are available from Malinda in the Resource Library and can be submitted to her.) PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THE BOOKS OUT OF THE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

Step 3: Final selection. The Textbook Selection Committee (Sally Beck, Patricia LiaBraaten, Karen Aranas, Tom Jakubowski, Sandy Barnard, Gary Roelofs, John Whitney) will choose course texts/materials from those recommended, taking into account the instructor comments and trying to ensure that there is good articulation between texts/materials from one level to the next. Final selections will be made by May 15, 2005.

Step 4: Outreach centers will be notified of selections and texts/materials will be ordered for each ESL center for fall term 2005. Students are required to buy them for their fall term classes.