Assignment C - Part 1
An Evaluation of Cutting Edge Advanced
✓ Use the checklist from unit 10 ('Evaluating course book material') to write a general evaluation
of the book.
✓ You won't be able to comment on all items as you only have one unit and the contents, but say
as much as you can.
✓ This must be presented as a coherent essay, not just a list.
✓ Then say whether you personally would like to use the book with an advanced class and why or
why not - this is just your opinion, so there is not a right or a wrong response to this part.
✓ You do not need to refer to the class described for Part 2 of this assignment.
✓ Write 300 - 500 words.
As a teacher, I loved this coursebook. The focus on diversity and globalization and
using a variety of countries and cities as examples was extremely important to me and
ensures that no matter where I would be teaching, the coursebook and its contents would
be relevant and culturally appropriate and representative. Each of the practice activities in
Unit 1 would be appropriate for advanced students who are already familiar with some of
the language, and enthusiastic about learning more. Real-life examples and varied use of
English is crucial to learning the language beyond just theory, and the Cutting Edge
coursebook allows for that.
Realistically, I would not do every single activity mentioned in the book. However, I
do enjoy the focus on paired and group activities, and especially the activity where one
student reads about Songdo and another about Medellin, and then they share the
information. This encourages more natural conversation and sharing facts, which is what I
would want my advanced students to be doing at their level. This, of course, can also be
changed to different cities, etc. The activities in the coursebook also provided plenty of
revision and repetition—the writing sample given was referenced in five questions before
and after the sample, and, in addition, was given a build-up to pre-teach some of the
language used it in and encouraged the students to use it themselves and try it out in
sentences, thus building confidence with potentially new words. I loved this assignment
and form of introducing new language and concepts to the students, especially harder
ones. Moreover, and most importantly, the writing sample was very authentic-looking and
sounding and was appropriately graded for an advanced class.
The book is generally attractively designed—though at times, some pages can look
busy, it is still easy to figure out what direction the writers are going in, and how to follow
along. I loved the English facts page, which added a fun splash of variety and novelty
among everything else. I found all four skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) to
be represented in the book in Unit 1. Though we had no specific audio exercise, many of
© 2020 The TEFL Academy. All rights reserved. 1
An Evaluation of Cutting Edge Advanced
✓ Use the checklist from unit 10 ('Evaluating course book material') to write a general evaluation
of the book.
✓ You won't be able to comment on all items as you only have one unit and the contents, but say
as much as you can.
✓ This must be presented as a coherent essay, not just a list.
✓ Then say whether you personally would like to use the book with an advanced class and why or
why not - this is just your opinion, so there is not a right or a wrong response to this part.
✓ You do not need to refer to the class described for Part 2 of this assignment.
✓ Write 300 - 500 words.
As a teacher, I loved this coursebook. The focus on diversity and globalization and
using a variety of countries and cities as examples was extremely important to me and
ensures that no matter where I would be teaching, the coursebook and its contents would
be relevant and culturally appropriate and representative. Each of the practice activities in
Unit 1 would be appropriate for advanced students who are already familiar with some of
the language, and enthusiastic about learning more. Real-life examples and varied use of
English is crucial to learning the language beyond just theory, and the Cutting Edge
coursebook allows for that.
Realistically, I would not do every single activity mentioned in the book. However, I
do enjoy the focus on paired and group activities, and especially the activity where one
student reads about Songdo and another about Medellin, and then they share the
information. This encourages more natural conversation and sharing facts, which is what I
would want my advanced students to be doing at their level. This, of course, can also be
changed to different cities, etc. The activities in the coursebook also provided plenty of
revision and repetition—the writing sample given was referenced in five questions before
and after the sample, and, in addition, was given a build-up to pre-teach some of the
language used it in and encouraged the students to use it themselves and try it out in
sentences, thus building confidence with potentially new words. I loved this assignment
and form of introducing new language and concepts to the students, especially harder
ones. Moreover, and most importantly, the writing sample was very authentic-looking and
sounding and was appropriately graded for an advanced class.
The book is generally attractively designed—though at times, some pages can look
busy, it is still easy to figure out what direction the writers are going in, and how to follow
along. I loved the English facts page, which added a fun splash of variety and novelty
among everything else. I found all four skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) to
be represented in the book in Unit 1. Though we had no specific audio exercise, many of
© 2020 The TEFL Academy. All rights reserved. 1
