ELT materials

Extracting incompatible values in the best-sellers current in ELT markets is a real concern. In this study, the researchers tried to bring some claims/counterclaims for hidden ideologies regarding two imported English language teaching coursebooks-Four Corners and Impact Values Series, which are commonly taught within Iranian English language institutes. The main intention was that they might transmit incompatible English culture to the Iranian learners. Through a qualitative design, vigorous content analysis was conducted over diverse randomly selected texts/topics and images in the two books, it was found out that regarding images, four themes instantiated incongruent values to the local context for Iranian learners including A) boy-girl relationship, B) imbalance of religious norms as opposed to other religions, C) incongruent lifestyles, and D) the proportion of the male vs. female images in the two books. As to topics included in the books, mismatching items were detected within seven main categories including A) Cross-gender relationship, B) disregarding the importance of family, C) excessive Use of Internet, D) Mobile Phones, and Computers, E) food and drink prohibitions, F0 forbidden or inappropriate habits,G) incompatible jobs and professions, and H) showing disrespect for older people. Finally, some suggestions regarding compatibility issues with local cultural input enrichment with the Iranian culture were given.

This study attempted to evaluate and compare language learning apps and the related traditional books on the same subject. The apps included Murphy’s English Grammar and Cambridge Discovery Readers and the traditional materials were English Grammar in Use and Developing Reading Skills. The study, thus, aimed to do a comparative analysis between traditional ELT materials and the digital versions. In doing so, it aimed to evaluate ELT mobile apps and consider their effectiveness for English language learning. The analysis was conducted based on the frameworks adapted from Hubbard (2006) and Reinders and Pegrum (2015). Based on these frameworks, the overall features and functions of the selected applications were analyzed in terms of three categories: ‘content and design’, ‘L2 approaches’ and ‘technology’. The analysis demonstrated that these ELT apps seemed to be effective in that they could provide a personal and learner-centered learning opportunity for learners as they would make them independent from any time and any place. Needless to say, by realizing mobility as a more situated, field-dependent and collaborative form of learning, the effective design and use of ELT mobile applications should continue to be studied in order to suggest the right direction to effective MALL.