2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Using Analytic Hierarchy Process in Textbook Evaluation

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24652116
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Foreign language education
Research Institution	Niigata University
Principal Investigator	KATO Shigeo 新潟大学, 人文社会・教育科学系, 教授 (70347368)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Keywords	英語教育 / 教材評価 / 階層分析法 / アプリケーション
Research Abstract	This research attempted the application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in English language teaching materials evaluation, focusing in particular on its potential for systematically integrating different components of evaluation criteria in a variety of teaching contexts. AHP is a measurement procedure wherein pairwise comparisons are made at different levels, each of which comprises a specific criterion, resulting in a systematic method that integrates each criteria component to arrive at a final evaluation outcome and weighs each component in order to adapt the evaluation to the particular teaching context. After a series of trial simulations by several in-service teachers, the application program for ipad has been developed and now almost ready for practical use. The program is to be presented in the next AILA World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, which will be held in August, 2014.