A comparative study on evaluation of Turkish and English foreign language textbooks from the perspectives of students and teachers

Evaluation and selection of suitable materials that best fit the learners? needs is becoming more and more important for all levels in language teaching. Especially, textbooks are one of the most commonly used teaching and learning materials in today?s education system. Therefore, this comparative study focuses on the perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students as well as teachers regarding the effectiveness of Turkish and English foreign language textbooks currently used by most of the universities in Turkey and in the USA. In order to identify teachers? and students? beliefs regarding ?Turkish Elementary Textbook by Kurtuluş Öztopçu? and ?English Textbook Face to Face?, a questionnaire which consists of 30 statements with two open-ended questions was administered to both teachers and learners. The statements were categorized under such headings as activities and tasks, linguistic and thematic content, layout and design. SPSS pocket programme 11.0 was used for statistical analysis; the questionnaires were analyzed by calculating the percentages and the numbers. The two- open ended questions were analyzed using content analysis. The findings of this research are as follows;1. The views of the teachers and the students in terms of the efficiency of Turkish foreign language textbook are differentiated in all dimensions. Students generally have morepositive attitudes towards textbook than teachers have.2. A significant difference is found in the dimension of language skills. Teachers do not think that Turkish FL textbook provides an appropriate balance of five language skills.3. According to both groups of participants, the most effective aspect of Turkish FL textbook is to present grammar explanations that help students learn structural units.4. There is no significant difference between the views of the teachers and students in terms of the efficiency of English foreign language textbook. However, teachers showhigh rate of uncertainty in all dimensions.5. According to both groups of participants, the most effective aspect of English foreign language textbook is the illustrations that help learners understand the printed text.This study closes with suggestions based on the teachers? and the students? preferences that may help textbook writers, education researchers to acquire useful and accurate insightinto the nature of the existing textbooks. The study sheds light on the necessity of material adaptation as well.