AN EXPLORATION OF TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES ON “CONNECT SERIES” AS AN ENGLISH COURSE BOOK IN IRANIAN EFL CONTEXT

The current study aimed at evaluating the pedagogical values of “Connect Series” as English course books employed in the foreign language learning context of Iran. A needs analysis survey was also conducted to find the strengths and weaknesses of the “Connect Series” as learners’ needs are concerned. To do so, 15 EFL teachers rated the series based on a checklist developed by (Chastain, 1971; Rivers, 1981; Sheldon, 1988; Skierso, 1991; Cunningsworth, 1995). Furthermore, a needs analysis questionnaire was given to 40 students studying at Zabansara as a private English institute in Iran. Comparing the learners’ needs analysis and the teachers’ course book evaluation, it was found that the “Connect Series” possessed several pedagogical values which identify whether the textbook is well-matched with different items of the checklist or not such as aims and achievements, skills, language type, activities and technical considerations. The teachers were satisfied and considered the books as appropriate devices to achieve their predetermined instructional targets, however, some of the course book’s shortcomings were uncovered through the study as, inappropriate writing topics and the mismatch of vocabulary and grammatical points in each unit of the course book.