Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 136 ( 2014 ) 109 113



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 Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences   136  ( 2014 )  109 – 113 

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

1877-0428 © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 

(

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/



).

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of LINELT 2013.

doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.298 

ScienceDirect

LINELT 2013 

An Evaluation of Grammar and Vocabulary Consciousness-Raising 

Activities in Current ELT Materials 

Hassan Soodmand Afshar 

a

*, Mohammad Bagherieh 





  a 

Assistant Professor in TEFL, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, IR Iran 



MA in TEFL, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, IR Iran 

Abstract 

Five current international ELT books used in Iran were scrutinized regarding inclusion of grammar and vocabulary 

consciousness-raising activities. To this end, a twenty-seven item, five-point Likert-scale questionnaire filled out by 

90 Iranian EFL teachers and 170 students, triangulated by a semi-structured interview conducted with 20 EFL 

teachers and 20 students were adopted. A Chi-square analysis and an independent sample t-test were run to compare 

teachers and students' responses. The findings revealed although the five ELT books used different kinds of 

grammar and vocabulary activities, they did not include some of the major grammar and vocabulary consciousness-

raising activities (e.g. making generalizations, cross-referencing, reconstructing, etc). The findings might be 

beneficial for ELT material developers, syllabus designers and practitioners. 

 

© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. 



Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of LINELT 2013. 

Keywords: Grammar and vocabulary consciousness-raising activities, current international ELT books, materials; 

1.  Introduction 

It is generally believed that the mastery of grammar and vocabulary as building blocks of the English language might 

ease the burden of the leaning process for the students. 

     Regarding the crucial role of vocabulary, (Decarrico, 2001, p.285) maintains that "vocabulary learning is central to 

 

 

* Corresponding Author. Tel.: +98-811-829-2590; fax: +98-811-829-2590. 



E-mail address: soodmand@basu.ac.ir, hassansoodmand@gmail.com 

 

 



© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 

(

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/



).

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of LINELT 2013.



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 Hassan Soodmand Afshar and Mohammad Bagherieh  /  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences   136  ( 2014 )  109 – 113 

language acquisition, whether the language is first, second, or foreign". Krashen (1982) believes that grammar is 

synonymous with conscious learning and it has two possible roles in second language teaching including grammar as 

"monitor" and grammar as "language appreciation". Prabhu (1987) stresses the importance of meaning-focused tasks 

and their contribution to L2 grammar acquisition.  Both teachers and foreign language teaching/learning materials can 

put consciousness-raising activities into effect. However, of paramount importance here is the role of materials in 

general and course books in particular which provide a blueprint of activities to be done by both teachers and students. 

As Cunnings worth (1995, p.1) maintains, "The wealth of published materials for English language teaching (ELT) 

available on the market makes selecting the right course book a challenging task". This statement clearly demonstrates 

the necessity of course book evaluation in any ELT program. Tomlinson (2003, p.15) defines course book evaluation as 

" a procedure that involves measuring the value (or potential value) of a set of learning materials". The present study 

aimed at evaluating current ELT materials taught in Iran with regard to grammar and vocabulary consciousness 

activities. Consciousness rising, (C-R) according to Richards and Schmidt (2002, p. 109) is a "technique that 

encourages learners to pay attention to language form in the belief that an awareness of form will contribute indirectly 

to language acquisition". 

Willis and Willis (1996, p.71) suggest different grammar consciousness raising activities including: 

Identify/consolidate: Students are asked to search a set of data to identify a particular pattern or usage and the 

language forms associated with it. 

Classify (semantic; structural): Students are required to work with a set of data and sort it according to 

similarities and differences based on formal or semantic criteria. 

Hypothesis building/checking: Students are given (or asked to make) a generalization about language and 

asked to check this against more language data. 

Cross-language exploration: Students are encouraged to find similarities and differences between patternings 

in their own language and patterning’s in English. 

Reconstruction/deconstruction: Students are required to manipulate language in ways, which reveal 

underlying patterns.  

Recall: Students are required to recall and reconstruct elements of a text. The purpose of the recall is to 

highlight significant features of the text. 

Reference training: Students need to learn to use reference works - dictionaries, grammars and study guides. 

     Moreover, vocabulary consciousness according to Scott and Scott (2010, p.1),  "is an interest in and awareness of 

words as building blocks of communication, the ability to reflect on, and manipulate words as units of language". 

Graves & Watts (2002) maintain that word consciousness refers to an awareness of, and interest in words and their 

meanings. Within the same line of reasoning, Anderson and Nagy (1992) believe that word consciousness integrates 

metacognition about words, motivation to learn words, and deep and lasting interest in words. There are different 

approaches and activities to enhance word consciousness. Graves (2007) maintains that enhancing the metalinguistic 

awareness of students; the ability to consciously think about and reflect on linguistic characteristics, such as the 

characteristics of words will make learners more conscious of words. According to Graves (2007), activities like 

modelling skilful word choice, promoting skilful word choice, encouraging word play and word lay books, offering 

instruction that is rich and robust, having students take part in novel explanation of words and providing instruction on 

words can be implemented by the teachers to help the students to become conscious of words. Graves & Taffe (2007, 

p.159) suggest five approaches to foster word consciousness including: 

• 

Modeling, recognizing and encouraging adept diction: This approach includes using unfamiliar words to 



describe the concepts they are familiar with to make them curious about the world of words. For instance, 

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 Hassan Soodmand Afshar and Mohammad Bagherieh  /  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences   136  ( 2014 )  109 – 113 

asking the students to close the door because it is ajar instead of asking the student to close the door because it 



not completely closed. One approach to model adept diction is to use the "word-of-the-day" approach. Another 

approach in students' writing and speaking is to scaffold their use of new words. 

• 

Promoting word play: This approach includes reinforcing the use of homophones, homographs, idioms, 



clichés, puns and word play books.   

• 

Providing intensive and expressive instruction: This approach requires students to be immersed in a rich



precise, interesting and intensive use of vocabulary (i.e. using children's literature). It also requires students to 

work extensively and intensively with words. The third step in this approach, is writing extensive essays using 

much of the words they have learned. Finally, the last step involves discussions about the word choices they 

make, why they make those choices, and how adroit use of words makes speech and writing more precise, 

more memorable and more interesting. 

• 

Involving students in original investigations: This approach involves students in systematic efforts (research 



done by the students themselves) to investigate different data sources including both written and spoken ones. 

• 

Teaching students about words: This final step involves the knowledge of words, which teachers should have, 



and the possibility of explicitly instructing students in this knowledge. Nagy and Scott (2000) believe that 

word knowledge comprises knowledge of five aspects including incrementality, multidimensionality, 

ploysemy, interrelatedness and heterogeneity.  

2. Methodology 

   2.1. Participants 

     The participants of the present study were 90 male and female Iranian EFL teachers with different university 

degrees (at least a BA) in TEFL and translation and also with different teaching experiences (at least 2 years of 

experience). The participants also included 170 male and female EFL learners studying one of the five current 

international ELT books in different private ELT centres of Hamedan. The proficiency level of students included 

intermediate, high-intermediate and advanced levels based on the book they were studying. Both teachers and 

students were conveniently sampled from the available private ELT centres of Hamedan.  

    2.2. Materials      

The materials for the present study included five current international ELT books widely used in private ELT 

centres in Iran. The researchers evaluated the following ELT course books based on the criteria features regarding 

grammar and vocabulary consciousness raising activities based on Willis and Willis (1996) and Graves and Taffe 

(2007) respectively. The particulars of the ELT books evaluated in the study are:  

Clare, A., Wilson, JJ. (2006). Total English, NY: Pearson Education. 

Hancock, M., McDonald, A. (2008). English Result, Oxford: OUP. 

Oxenden, C., Latham-Coeing, C. & Seligson, P. (2009). American English File. Oxford: OUP. 

Richards, J.C., Hull, J. & Proctor, S. (2006). Interchange (3rd edition). Cambridge: CUP. 

Richards, J.C., and Bohlke, D. (2012). Four Corners, Cambridge: CUP. 



2.2. Instruments 

     The instrument adopted for collecting the required data was a 30 item five-digit Likert-scale questionnaire which 



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 Hassan Soodmand Afshar and Mohammad Bagherieh  /  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences   136  ( 2014 )  109 – 113 

was filled out by both EFL teachers and EFL learners. Second, an open-ended questionnaire was administered to the 

EFL teachers. Finally, for the purpose of data triangulation, a semi-structured interview was conducted on both ELT 

teachers and EFL learners. 



2.3. Procedure 

       


To evaluate the aforementioned ELT materials first, the researchers subjectively scrutinized each book against 30 

criteria features. The criteria features to evaluate the incorporation of grammar raising activities were drawn up from the 

model suggested by Willis and Willis (1996). In addition, Graves and Taffe's (2007) model regarding word 

consciousness activities was considered as the criteria for the incorporation of vocabulary consciousness raising 

activities into the course books. Second, to include the teachers ‘and learners’ voices in this subjective evaluation, both 

EFL teachers and learners filled out a questionnaire. The items of the mentioned questionnaire were obtained from the 

responses which 20 other similar EFL teachers gave to an open-ended questionnaire and also the criteria suggested by 

Willis and Willis (1996) and Graves and Taffe (2007).  Finally, to triangulate the obtained data, a semi-structured 

interview was conducted with 20 ELT teachers and 20 EFL learners each one teaching or studying at least one of the 

five ELT books mentioned earlier. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and coded by the researchers to find 

the recurring themes and patterns mentioned by the interviewees who were then quantitated and frequency analysed.  

2.4. Data analysis 

     The results obtained from the teachers' questionnaires and those obtained from the students' questionnaires were 

compared using chi-square analysis to find any significant differences between teachers and students' responses to each 

individual item. An independent sample t-test was also run to compare the teachers and students' overall responses to 

find any significant general differences among the perceptions of both groups. Furthermore, the semi-structured 

interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and coded by the researchers, which were then quantitated, and frequency 

analysed. Finally, the results of the researchers' subjective evaluation, the teachers' responses to the questionnaire, and 

students' responses to the questionnaires as well as the results gained from the semi-structured interview were 

compared, contrasted and discussed. 

2.3. Results and discussion 

     The subjective evaluation of the researchers revealed that although the current books enjoyed incorporation of 

different vocabulary and grammar consciousness raising activities, they lacked some of them. The results of the scrutiny 

showed that activities like making generalizations, cross referencing, reconstructing, discussing word choices, 

researching about vocabularies were lacking in the books. The reason might be due to the nature of the language 

teaching theories behind the books. Four Corners, which is a recently published series, seems to have incorporated 

more activities of the ilk. However, vocabulary has not received due attention in Four Corners.  Interchange series

which was the previous version of the Four Corners showed no significant difference in presenting grammar and 

vocabulary. Thus, it might be concluded that four corners did not improve much regarding vocabulary and grammar. 

The scrutiny also revealed that English Result, which is also a recent material in ELT, enjoys different vocabulary and 

grammar teaching strategies. It was also concluded while American English File was rich in presenting grammar; it did 

not well emphasize teaching vocabulary. Total English was concluded to be weak in presenting both grammar and 

vocabulary. The results of the chi-square analyses indicated that although teachers answered some of the items in the 

same manner and students, teachers and students' opinions differed in some items. The items included making students 

to work with a sort of data and sorting it according to similarities and differences based on formal and semantic criteria, 

emphasizing the use of different grammar learning techniques and strategies and using an explicit approach in teaching 

grammar and vocabulary. The reason might be the fact that students' perception of different activities and methods in 

teaching grammar and vocabulary might be different from that of the teachers', In other words, students may not be 

aware of the concepts of the activities included in the questionnaire. Furthermore, the results of the independent sample 

t-test showed that, students and teachers' opinions did not differ significantly. Table 1 shows the results of the t-test. 

 


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 Hassan Soodmand Afshar and Mohammad Bagherieh  /  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences   136  ( 2014 )  109 – 113 

Table 1. Independent sample t- test for teachers' and students' opinions 

     T                  df              Sig.(2tailed)           Mean Difference           Std.Error difference   95% Confidence Interval 



    Lower          Upper             Lower                      Upper                            Lower                        Upper          Lower 

    -0.8                 258 

0.00                       -0.22                               0.78                       -.2.323           3.542  

 

 

Finally, the results of the semi-structured interviews also corroborated the teachers and students' opinions. It can be 

concluded that both teachers and students are not aware of the potential value of the grammar and vocabulary 

consciousness raising activities included in the books. Material developers are also recommended to put a wider 

range of the activities in the current ELT books to enhance and ease the burden of learning English as a foreign 

language. 



 

References 

 

Anderson, R. C., & Nagy, W. E. (1992). The Vocabulary Conundrum. American Educator: The Professional 



Journal of the American Federation of Teachers, 16(4), 14-18.

 

Cunningsworth, A. (1995).Choosing your Coursebook . London: Heinemann. 

Decarrico, .J.S. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (pp. 285-299). Heinle & Heinle 

Publishers.



 

Graves, M. (2007). Conceptual and empirical bases for providing struggling readers with multifaceted and long-term 

vocabulary instruction. In B. Taylor & J. Ysseldyke (Eds.),

 

Effective instruction for struggling readers, K-6 

(pp. 55-83). NY: Teachers College.



 

Graves, M. F., & Watts-Taffe, S. M. (2002). The place of word consciousness in a research-based vocabulary 

program. What Research Has to Say about Reading Instruction3, 140-165. 

Nagy, W. E. & Scott,  J. A. (2000).  Vocabulary processes.  In  M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson & Barr, R. 

(Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 3, pp. 269-284).  New York:  Longman. 

Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second language pedagogy (Vol. 20). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. (2002). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Harlow: 

Pearson Education Limited. 

Tomlinson, B. (2003). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. Continuum. 

 

 



 

Willis, D., & Willis, J. (1996). Consciousness-raising ActivitiesChallenge and Change in Language Teaching

Heinemann. 

 

 



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