MATERIALS EVALUATION

     In educational system it is an undeniable truth that without evaluation development can not be ensured; therefore each process should be evaluated. In this sense, the materials used in the classroom should be evaluated. The materials that used in the process of teaching-learning should be evaluated not only while choosing before training and preparing but also after using these materials. 

     Tomlinson & Masuhara (2004: 7) proposed the following questions for evaluating criteria:

a) Is each question an evaluation question?

b) Does each question only ask one question?

c) Is each question answerable?

d) Is each question free of dogma?

e) Is each question reliable in the sense that other evaluators would interpret it in the same way?

     The process of evaluation can be staged in three interrelated steps: pre-use, in-use and post-use evaluation.

     a) Pre-use evaluation

     This step just involves making predictions about the probable significance of the materials for the learners or teachers. Thanks to this stage of evaluation subjectivity can be reduced; and it shows us there is a similarity between this stage of evaluation and checklist method.

     b) While-use evaluation

     This step involves measuring the significance of materials while they are being used in the classroom. They should be active to be evaluated in this stage. According to Tomlinson (2003), this can be a drawback as well as a virtue. He claims “(Whilst-use evaluation) is limited to measuring what is observable… and cannot claim to measure what is happening in the learners’ brains”
     c)Post-use evaluation

     This step is doubtless the most valuable type of evaluation. Tomlinson (2003, p.25) states that post-use evaluation can essentially measure the long-term effect of the materials on the learners. This step gives important responses to the most important questions about the materials as ‘Did the materials help the teachers to cover the syllabus?’, ‘What do the learners know about the material before and after using it?’

     The teachers should be so careful while selecting the materials. The materials should be chosen according to the aim of the lesson and interests of the learners and the time should be measured well. Practitioners need a new set of skills, mainly skills related to adapting materials, to tackle the problems learning material bring about in the classroom.

     Tomlinson (2003, p.25) puts forward a list of versatile ways of measuring the post-use of materials;

•  Tests of what has been ‘taught’ by the materials;
•  Tests of what the students can do;
•  Examinations;
•  Interviews;
•  Questionnaires;
•  Criterion-referenced evaluations by the users;
•  Post-courses diaries;
•  Post-course ‘shadowing’ of the learners;
•  Post-course reports on the learners by employer, subject tutors, etc.

REFERENCES
Tomlinson, B. (2003). Materials evaluation. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing materials for language teaching (p.23-25). London: Continuum.

Tomlinson, B. & H. Masuhara (2004). Developing language course materials. Singapore: RELC Portfolio Series.