The rewards and perils of making the transition from classroom language teacher to developer of English-as-a-Second-Language textbooks are discussed. Issues include national and international marketing as well as the production process. (LB)

Traces the evolution of page design to improve the readability of technical writing to the influence of Peter Ramus, who used bracketed outlines to show the relationships among ideas with larger concepts. Describes how the Ramist method was used by Renaissance English physicians to create medical texts which could be easily understood and…

Integrates two faculty members' experiences learning how to become textbook authors. Considers differences between publishing journal articles and textbooks, and provides suggestions for successfully making the shift. Notes specific problems and solutions with finding publishers, negotiating contracts, and preparing the manuscripts. (DSK)

Discusses the factors that have determined the author's approach to writing medical physiology textbooks. Reviews the author's career and the events surrounding the development of each textbook. Explains the motivation behind critical decisions made during the authoring process. (DDR)

Given the results of experience and research, it is no longer possible to treat school textbooks as something incidental or accessory to the educational process. In the last few years, funding agencies have gradually but systematically initiated reflection on textbooks. It is now accepted that pupil access to school textbooks is one criterion for…

Until the end of the last century the school textbook served only one purpose, which was to educate; today, faced with competition from the media, it also must be attractive. The development of the textbook over the last century has been characterized, on one hand, by greater diversity, and hence greater complexity, in the typographical methods…

The author of the "Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language" responds to two areas of criticism of the textbook: its size and its intended audience. These aspects and the general construction of the book are discussed in relation to the information needs of the foreign language learner and in comparison with the information…

Authors of texts for instruction in English as a second language have several options for publishing: the traditinal method, dealing directly with large, well-known publishers, or with smaller, specialized houses, or with author-formed groups. This process begins with an idea, and involves making contacts and submitting proposals, review and…

Perestroika and glasnost are not only influencing the economic and social structure of Soviet society, but also have led to a revision of the authorized history of the USSR as Soviet historians struggle to create a national history based on fact instead of dogma. The Soviet history profession itself is also undergoing a major self-examination, as…

Textbooks and other printed materials will be ever present, in the foreseeable future, as major aids for teaching and learning processes. New textbooks imply new guidelines for teachers, and the ways to handle such guidelines demand teacher training. This paper explains some links between inservice teacher training programs and the development of…

Compares the structure of German textbook dialogues to that of actual spoken German and discusses the implications of this comparison for writers of textbooks and for teachers. (PP)

In the form of a review article, the "English Minimum Grammar" developed by Hans G. Hoffmann (Max Hueber Verlag, Munich, 1973) is discussed, and the problems that beset the writer of a modern teaching grammar are pointed out. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Describes a model concerned with generating instructional material in support of undergraduate uses of computers and with exploring the various incentives available for authors and publishers to become involved in this activity. (Author)

Article adapted from a talk to the Connecticut Council for Social Studies on May 3, 1968.

Readability formulas were originally conceived of as being evaluative measures. However, if a text is being rewritten or revised so that it matches a particular level of ability in its intended readers, it is rather inescapable that readability formulas will influence the changes made. Tacitly or not, formulas now are used to diagnose what causes…