Journal of English Language Teaching

Designing a Textbook for Undergraduate Students to facilitate Relevance, Reflection and Response

Malati Panga

Associate Professor of English, Hislop College, Nagpur

Karthik Panicker

Assistant Professor of English, J.M. Patel College, Bhandara

Keywords: Textbook, Relevance, Engagement, Communication, Vocabulary, Critical Thinking, High Order Thinking Skills

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Abstract

One of the major challenges faced by teachers is the of lack of engagement with the textbook among the students.  The reason behind this is that the content of the text is of little relevance to the students and is not close to their hearts. Moreover, the language of the text is not accessible to the students and cannot be comprehended by them without a teacher-directed lesson.  The present paper shares the parameters used by the researchers in designing a textbook for general English undergraduate students so that it promotes engagement and critical thinking among them.   The paper also shares the ways in which classroom instruction was used to help students connect the content of the text to their own lives and also provide opportunities for them to not only develop their vocabulary and communication skills but also their high order thinking skills.

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