How are Materials Actually Used in Classrooms? Towards a Systematic Evaluation of a Locally Published Coursebook Series for Young Learners in Turkey

In recent years, localised versions of successful, global English language teaching materials and materials specifically developed for a local audience have mushroomed around the world in an attempt to cater for local needs more satisfactorily and create more culturally appropriate materials. This mixed-methods case study investigates a coursebook series specifically developed for a particular group of young learners (aged between 6 and 10) in Turkey. It aims to reveal its design and development process from the perspectives of its developers, to find out about its value and effectiveness from the perspectives of its end-users and to explore its use inside classrooms by teachers and students. A two-level approach was adopted in this study: macro and micro. At the macro (non-classroom) level, the data was obtained through individual interviews with the developers of the coursebook series and in-depth analysis of the series. At the micro (classroom) level, data was collected through questionnaires and individual/focus-group interviews with the end-users and a procedure involving pre-observation meetings and classroom observations, followed by video-stimulated recall interviews with teachers. The combination of these two levels paints a more complete picture of the coursebook project under scrutiny, from its inception, through its development and design process to its end use in the classroom. This study is original because it explores an under-researched aspect of materials development and design, that is, actual classroom use and because it includes the critical voices of multiple stakeholders (including one of the authors, directors and representatives of the publishing house, teachers and learners), who are rarely represented in the literature.