Evaluating Second Language Education Edited by J. Charles Alderson, Lancaster University, Alan Beretta, Michigan State U

Responsibility for planning language teaching programmes now carries with it a strong element of accountability Evaluation of the whole process of course design, development and implementation is therefore a necessary area of activity for course designers. language planners and researchers. This book brings together accounts of recent work in this increasingly important field and will be a valuable resource both for those already engaged in evaluation and for those in training. It is divided into three parts

Part one presents a review of the literature, covering past developments in the wider field of educational evaluation, as well as specifically in second language education.

Part two contains a series of eight orginal case studies, written by scholars involved in evaluations in widely divergent settings. The focus in each case is on how the evaluator addresses the difficulties central to each study, and the findings are also included.

* Part three provides practical guidance for evaluators, offering

suggestions about how to set up and carry out evaluations in

any given setting

J. Charles Alderson is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language at Lancaster University Alan Beretta Is Assistant Professor in the Department of English of Michigan State University.