Textbooks and exams are important aspects of English language teaching (ELT) as they influence or even determine what students learn. Previous studies have compared ELT materials and proficiency exams to verify and ensure consistency and reliability in both testing and teaching materials designed for the same target students; a mismatch might lead to tests negatively affecting teaching and vice-versa, which is called the educational washback effect. However, the Chinese ELT context remains under-investigated, and rare studies illustrate a step-by-step guidance of this comparative corpus-based analysis approach. This research aims to provide researchers with hands-on suggestions for the construction and analysis of ELT-specialised corpora which can improve future ELT material development and assessment practices to be better aligned and more statistically objective.