An Evaluation of Mastering English Series within the CBA Classroom in Cameroonian Secondary Schools

Abstract

Textbooks provide an indispensable framework on which teachers and students build upon. Evaluation on its part, is a dynamic process which investigates the suitability and appropriateness of an existing practice. It is a useful device for both teachers and material writers as an underlying element in the development of innovations and modifications within the teaching/learning context. Therefore, it is obvious that textbook evaluation constitutes a crucial factor in addressing cumulative deficiencies associated with our teaching/learning institution in general and in our English Language Teaching endeavours. It has been observed that Mastering English series pose several problems to both teachers and learners of English language in Cameroon. This article sets out to investigate the Mastering English series with a focus on the students’ book 5 to find out the extent to which the book aligns with the stipulations of the CBA in Cameroon. The analysis in this study was predicated on the hypothesis that Mastering English book 5 needs great improvement to really meet both the needs of learners and the requirement of the CBA. Both the theoretical and empirical findings reveal general misgivings about Mastering English book 5 and the implementation of the CBA in the context of Cameroon.