Lindsay Bost LING 583 Text Review Text: Saslow, Joan and Allen Ascher.

Top Notch 3: English for Todays World. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2011. Top Notch 3: English for Todays World is an integrated textbook with the overarching goal of effectively communicating in the real world. Suited for intermediate learners, the theme-based unit organization is integrated with pedagogical and real-world tasks and minor explicit attention to the four language skills. Top Notch 3 is the fourth level in a series of six textbooks with the stated purpose of preparing learners to interact with both native and non-native speakers of English. The authors of the text explicate aspects of the instructional design (which I will consider their claims) through which students will gain conversational skills by conversational models, an emphasis on cultural fluency, intensive frequency-based vocabulary exposure, an explicit grammar focus, and pronunciation guidance. It appears that these claims in conjunction with the thematic content organization approach language through learner-centered and skills-based learning that increase learner independence. Using the framework of Littlejohn and the basis of analyzing a text by its own merits, I explore the content, design, and implications of the textbook and its ability to meet the authors claims. With sufficient supplementation for vocabulary building and fluency practice within class, Top Notch 3 may be suitable for English learners who wish to gain more of a verbal proficiency than written literacy. Content & Organization The overall organization of this text is an integration of theme-based and skills-based, with ten units that focus on a specific subject matter and its corresponding communicative skills to be learned. Beginning with situational every-day content such as Unit 1: Making Small Talk (communicative goals: describe a schedule, make small talk) and Unit 2: Health Matters (goals: make an appointment, talk about medications), the text advances to real-world matters as in Unit 6: Life Plans (goals: discuss life changes, discuss skills and abilities), and ends with seemingly abstract ideas as in Unit 9: Controversial Issues (goals: politely discuss controversial issues, debate issues). The unit themes themselves seem to be sequenced by frequency of communication skill (e.g. making small talk, describing professions, debating issues), which may also be considered by immediacy of learner needs. The grammar is more or less sequenced simple to complex. Within each unit, there are four communicative goals explicitly stated to be gained by the end of the unit. Each unit is divided into six parts: a preview section to activate schema, four sections that correspond to each communicative goal, and a final section with review and comprehensive listening and writing activities. The pages themselves have a bit of color, are neatly organized and sectioned, and full of 1

text to the degree that it may seem a bit busy at points. Actual pictures are used throughout the units to illustrate vocabulary and conversational situations that appear to be geared toward adults and young professionals. The content and themes of the units reinforce the appeal to this audience. An in-depth unit description and analysis is provided in later discussion. Included with the textbook is a CD for a digital students Activebook that provides a digital version of the entire textbook, audio for vocabulary and conversational models, optional test preparation reviews, and extra practice activities, games, and songs. Although I did not have access to the teachers manual, it is stated that there is a methods handbook, lesson plans with extension activities, answer keys, audioscripts, and extra notes on language, culture, and corpora. Also available to the instructor are workbooks with daily assignments, an assessment package, placement tests, a book of pedagogical tasks, and an online course management tool. This uneven distribution of materials and answers limits student access, establishing a reliance on the instructor to determine the pace and selection of activities within the course. Validity of Claims One of the claims made is that social language skills and comprehensible pronunciation are enhanced by a conversational and pronunciation syllabus. Within each unit, these claims are demonstrated by two conversational models (created from the Longman Corpus of Spoken American English) and one explicit focus on pronunciation. The conversational models are common discourses that may take place surrounding a given theme. For example, in Unit 4: Reading for Pleasure, a model includes the phrases Is that the latest issue of Car Magazine? and You know, Id be happy to lend it to you when Im done with it. Following the conversation model, students are asked to listen to it again (from an included interactive CD) and repeat the model with a partner. Within the same unit, the pronunciation focus is on sentence stress such as I THINK so and I beLIEVE so, asking students to then create their own questions about future plans and practice sentence stress with partners. Within this activity, students are asked to create meaning-focused output through the creation of their own questions in the pronunciation, as well as modify and expand the conversation model for each communicative goal. While these models do provide semi-authentic conversations from real-world situations and comprehensible input, there is a lack of requirement for meaningful output in the model modification task. One area of the textbook that may require significant classroom supplementation is the focus on vocabulary. While the design incorporates and recycles high frequency words to support acquisition, there is no glossary available to students. Each unit introduces a small set of new vocabulary relevant to the conversational situation and goals. Most vocabulary words are shown with pictures and without explanation, although some units provide explicit written definitions. This type of design assumes that learners are already equipped with the knowledge necessary to 2

understand the high frequency words used throughout, and have enough control over their own learning to actively seek definitions either from the instructor of the class or through their own research. Within each unit and subunit, a consistent focus on form creates what I believe to be an effective way to meet the goal of having students attend to grammar while participating in communication exercises. Throughout the text, each grammar point is explained clearly and thoroughly, with a grammar booster provided at the end of the book to summarize and provide further practice. Students are given not only pedagogical tasks to practice new grammar usage, but also real-world tasks to use this grammar in conversation. A final claim of this textbook is to build a cultural fluency within learners that will allow them to effectively communicate with speakers of English all over the world, able to understand various accents from language backgrounds. To this end, this is a valid claim. Many of the conversational models and listening activities are centered around accented non-native speakers of English. There is also ample opportunity for students to reflect on their own culture and learn about other classmates backgrounds. For example, there are discussion questions on addressing people based on status, varying cultural etiquettes, local business, etc. Aside from discussion questions about learners own cultures, there is a balance between exposure to American and world cultures. In Unit 4: Reading for Pleasure, the schema activation preview introduces recommended American classic books, while the fourth goal of discussing reading quality contains a passage about comic books and views on them from around the world. While this exposure and reflection is useful for learners who aim to use conversational English globally, it may be useful to supplement activities within the classroom that will require interaction and fluency development that utilize this cultural knowledge. In-depth Analysis - Unit 6: Life Plans To take a closer look at the individual tasks and activities within the text, Ive chosen to examine a unit about life plans. This unit follows the standard format of the book: 2 pages of preview/schema activation, followed by 4 specific communicative goals (of 2 pages each), ending with 2 pages of review. The 4 goals listed at the heading of the unit are to explain a change in life and work plans, to express regrets about past actions, to discuss skills, abilities and qualifications, and to discuss factors that promote success. Because the 4 sections contain very similar progressions and activities, only the first section is outlined in detail. The preview begins with a full page checklist asking learners to find their most suitable career determined by their marked interests. This checklist consists of options such as writing songs, repairing furniture, teaching adults to read, etc. Following the checklist is a discussion prompt about which fields were checked the most, whether or not the results were surprising, and to brainstorm 3

jobs within that field. This serves as good warm up activity containing input to activate learner schema about careers and apply it to their own life by drawing on their own experiences and knowledge. Because there are no designated roles for the discussion, an instructor may choose to open a full class discussion or have learners complete on their own. A photo story (and accompanying audio) and script then shows two women discussing career path decisions. The vocabulary used within the story is appropriate for intermediate learners (e.g. I must have changed mine ten times before I settled on medicine! Have you decided on something else?). By asking students to simply read and listen to the story, comprehensible input may allow them to become acquainted with the type of texts they will encounter in the unit. Six words and phrases are underlined in the script, which are then listed in a following definition matching activity. Finally, a discussion prompt asks learners to choose from a list and check areas in their lives where they have changed their mind, and to discuss this with the class. While these activities at most require learners to discuss their answers, this preview may be adapted or supplemented by an instructor with further activities to engage learners, or cut back on if there is a lack of time. Lesson 1: Explain a change in life and work plans begins with a conversation model for learners to read and listen to on the audio CD, followed by an intonation prompt to repeat the model with a partner. This may serve as an opportunity for exposure to a typical conversation, though it is not meaningful and doesnt require meaning-focused output. A focus on grammar introduces the use of the future in the past to describe plans that were changed or not achieved. This is accompanied by clear explanations and examples in question and statement formation, as well as tips on discerning between options. This is followed by an exercise that asks students to write down the past plans of others based on pictures and explanations in the 1st person (e.g. Im going to apply to law school > She was going to apply to law school). Again, this does not require meaningful output from students but does serve as grammar practice that may be completed independently. Phrasal vocabulary (and accompanying audio) is then introduced using pictures and a description of the picture, without giving an explicit definition (e.g. a caption reads I thought I would be a lawyer, but I didnt pass the exam). This is followed by a sentence completion exercise to utilize the vocabulary, and states to compare answers with a partner. Together, these activities serve as a useful activity for intermediate students by causing them to rely on their own reasoning to deduce vocabulary definitions and their appropriate usage. A listening comprehension task asks learners to listen to a series of conversations and complete sentences that state what a persons goal was and their reason for not meeting the goal. Finally, the lesson concludes with a section titled Now you can... with a writing activity asking students to write down plans they had in the past and their reasons for changing their mind, as well as a partner activity to modify the conversation model using these written statements. This serves as a nice closing activity for the skill, as learners work within a familiar framework but still create their own meaning-based output. 4

The review section of the unit begins with a listening comprehension activity to write down life changes and reasoning, followed by exercises for defining types of qualifications and sentence completion utilizing new grammar. These are similar to activities completed throughout the unit, however a writing and oral activity require more production. First, learners are asked to write a short autobiography about themselves that incorporates new grammar, and an oral activity consists of a series of pictures at different points in time that learners are asked to construct a story about to tell their partners. Both of these activities seem to effectively wrap up the unit by ending presentation and rote practice through creative output both written and spoken. Conclusion Overall, Top Notch 3 appears to effectively meet its claims of serving as a tool for cultural fluency, grammar usage, pronunciation facilitation, and conversational strategies. One area that may be lacking is its claim of intensive vocabulary development, which may require supplementation through explicit definitions and classroom discussion of vocabulary for clarity. Similarly, classroom activities may need to be supplemented in order to facilitate student interaction that is not specified in the text. While the text and its additional materials provide ample amount of resources and optional instructional activities for instructors, lack of student access may limit the opportunity for independent study, which may be accounted for by the conversational and communicative nature of the textbook. Because this textbook aims for conversational fluency, it is best suited for a listening and speaking course with a minor focus on reading and writing.

Works Cited Littlejohn, A. (1998). The analysis of language teaching materials: Inside the Trojan horse. In B. Tomlinson (ed.) Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP, p. 190-216. Sheldon, L. (1988). Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials. ELT Journal 42 (4): 237-246.

Appendix: Textbook Checklist (adapted from Littlejohn, Sheldon)

Basic Info: Title: Author: Publisher: Level in Series: Estimated Hours Required: Target Skills: Target Learners: Target Teachers:

Content & Design: Criterion Visual appeal: Layout/Clarity Visual appeal: Graphics/Color Clarity of grammar explanations Pronunciation focus adequacy Cultural sensitivity Appropriateness of content for learners Vocabulary recycling Authenticity of language Quality of pedagogical tasks Sufficient opportunity for practice Meaning-focused activities Rating (1=Poor, 5=Excellent) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 N/A

Language-focused activities

Does the text achieve its communicative goals? Does the text require supplementation? Does the text require being taught in its original order? Are reference and supplementary materials given to learners? Are reference and supplementary materials given to instructors?

yes/no

notes:

yes/no yes/no

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yes/no

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yes/no

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