A critical appraisal for grade nine new English textbook

The new textbook of grade nine accommodates twelve chapters such as OpinionMatters, Natures Tapestry, The Sense of Beauty, Tones in Statements,expressing a Solution to a Problem, The Art of Expressing Comparisons, The Power of Inclusive Language, Imaginations, A Journey Through Explanatory Texts,understanding a Cause and Exploring its Effects, The Last Leaf and Macbeth excluding the thirteenth chapter that contains appendix.

In Crossing the Bar- a poem by Tennyson talks about death and the journey into the afterlife using symbols from nature like sunset, evening star, sea, tide, foam, twilight, evening bell, and flood to explain his feelings and ideas. He also expresses his desire to cross the bar between life and death without sorrowful farewells accepting thetruth tosay goodbye to this world.John Keats poem On the grasshopper and Cricket full of auditory imagery makes the students familiar with the features of Keats poems dealing with sensual imagery and exploration of beauty and morality. The chapter titled The Sense of Beauty explains  argumentative essay which is a genre of writing in which we argue for a reason or case. It requires us to investigate a topic or an issue from different angles to know about the strengths and weaknesses of that issue. It aims to convince the readers to agree with our point of view and demands logical explanations of our position rather than our thoughts and feelings about it. This chapter also says eauty is not only something we see, it is rather something with a pretty soul, beautiful thoughts and beautiful literature.

The Art of Expressing Comparisons   tells that compare refers to exploring similarities between subjects, while contrast means to look at their differences. When we write a compare and contrast essay, we try to make connections between the two subjects that are not obvious but illustrate the subtle, surprising or unexpected similarities and differences between the subjects. Using our observations and analytical skills is necessary to pay close attention to the issues, analyze the information and make meaningful argument about the issues to compare them.

In this chapter, the effort to make the students familiar with organic and non-organic foods
deserves appreciation. A food product that is free from any artificial additives such as preservative, flavouring, sweeteners, and coloring is known as organic food that contains high quantities of antioxidants compared to nonorganic foods. Organic foods with high antioxidants are helpful for the body due to their one role in reducing the risk of developing chronic illness. Non-organic foods contain some toxic pesticides, such as cadmium which is absent in the case of organic food.

The Power of Inclusive Language must be a very helpful and useful chapter that talks language is always considered a potential tool to express ones thoughts and ideas-In conversations, sometimes people use specific words, sentences or a way of expression to show his/her authority or superiority over others. Their tone of voice tells that they are in a higher position. Instrumental Power refers to a kind of position that people hold because of who they are. They do not always need to convince or satisfy anyone because of their position. Influential power is just the opposite of instrumental power.

Imagery is a language used by poets, novelists and other writers to create images in the minds of the readers through their senses. Both similes and metaphors are two forms of imagery that the authors use to allow the readers to clearly see, touch, taste, smell, and hear what is happening in a literary text. A simile is a figure of speech, and it is mainly used to compare two or more things that possess a similar quality. We say as white as milk, black like hair, brave like a lion, busy like bees, as fast as a cheetah to make our language more interesting, descriptive, and creative. Metaphor is a powerful tool in language and can help learners better understand complex ideas and express themselves more creatively.  Unlike similes, which use "like", "as…as" or "as" to make a comparison, metaphors state that one thing is another. It is actually a direct simile. When we say "Life is a journey", is a metaphor that compares life to a journey.

In the The Last Leaf students have been asked a series of questions  such as which story book have you read recently, what type/types of books do you like to read usually, which features of the text like plot, characters, theme attract you the most, have you read any story, play or poem that inspires you, if yes, what is that and how did it inspire you, which story , play or poem you want to suggest to your friends for reading and why.These questions seem to be reasonable to make students engaged and thoughtful and then initiate their speaking. However, the fact is todays students of grade nine with some possible exceptions don read any book beyond their texts. Maybe, they can at least read a short story that is also on FB. So, a new type of questions or mixed questions should have been introduced without directly putting the students into shame that they have not read any book. They also don know what mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, drama, folktale or short story. Teachers can give some synopsis of some books and then can ask students whether they have read any book of such type.

 Reading texts from different genres broadens our horizons, evokes diverse emotions, and offers unique perspectives. Evey book takes us on new journey. A play is more to be seen than to be read. Usually, a play has dialogues, characters, a plot (that is, the sequence of the story like a beginning, climax, and end), and a setting (that is, where the story is set). It is divided into acts and scenes. The term tragedy has evolved to refer to any form of art that ends with an unhappy note. Heroes of Shakespearean tragedy belong to a high rank. They are men of high status and of noble nature.   Using supernatural elements is one of the key characteristics of a Shakespearean tragedy. They play an important role in creating an atmosphere of awe, wonder, and sometimes fear. Supernatural elements are typically used to advance the story and drive the plot. The heroes of Shakespeare have an inherent weakness, a tragic flaw that makes the hero essentially human and the Shakespearean heroes are responsible for their fall.  Shakespearean tragedy deals with revenge, murder, death, conflicts, ambitions and others. Making the students familiar with William Shakespeare, one of his tragedies and specific features of Shakespearean tragedy sounds good.

The aims of the text say that the students will develop competencies such as ability to distinguish between facts and opinion in a given context, to devise to maintain clarity of expression, to identify structures and organizations of different genre, to critically analyze and evaluate linguistic norms in accordance with power relations in a particular cultural context and to appreciate aesthetics in English literary text and to internalize aesthetic values in ones own articulation. These aims talk more about developinglearners literary aspects than linguistic competencies. However, the dexterity of teachers can develop both the aspects of the learners in case of their dealing with the text fruitfully.

The writer is the President,  English Teachers Association of Bangladesh (ETAB)