A Textbook Analysis of Lotus English Reader Grade Eight

Abstract

This thesisentitled"A Textbook Analysis ofLotus English Reader Grade VII”is an attempt to analyze the textbook in terms ofitsacademic aspects, andneedsand interest of the learners. In the process of this study,Icollected datafrom primary and secondarysources. The primary sources of data were theresponsesprovidedby the English teacherswho are teaching Lotus EnglishReaderand students whowere taught English using Lotus English Reader.Themain secondary sourceof data was the textbook itself.In order to collect thedata, two sets of questionnaire were prepared for the teachers and students.Apart from this, the researcher himself studied the textbook in great detail. Theobtained datawere tabulated and analyzed using a simple statistical tool.Thefindings of the study are based on teachers’andstudents’ perceptions on thetextbook.Some findings are thetextbook incorporates interesting readings,data based factual information derived from native Nepali and English culture,and hence is able to motivate the learners. Thetextbook to a great extentexhibits authenticity of the reading materials,70%of the respondents agreewithanditincorporatessomeparaorthographic texts such as table, diagram andtherefore,itprovides the learners with a reading experience.But glossary, avery important part of a languagetextbook,is excluded all teachers andstudents have negative response on it.The exercises are sufficient for thestudents in developing academic skills, since 70% of the respondents agreewithit. The present study is divided into four major chapters. The first chapter dealswith a brief introduction oftheEnglish language, textbook and its importance,types of textbook, theoretical framework of textbook analysis, qualities ofgood textbook, review of related literature, objectives,significance andlimitations of the study. The second chapter deals with methodologyadoptedtocarryout this research work.The third chapter includes analysis andinterpretation of data collected from different sources. This chapter is divided into four sections;thefirst section deals teachers’ responses on thequalities ofthe textbookand thenthesecond dealswithteachers'openresponses on thequalities of the textbook.Similarly,thethird presents students’ responses onthe qualities of the textbook. The lastsection describesstudents' openresponses on the qualities of the textbook.The last chapter consists of findingsderived from the analysis and interpretation of the textbook.Finally,somerecommendations are made for further improvement of the textbook.