Factors affecting the choice of a TB

Choosing your Coursebook

English Teaching Professional (a journal)

Issue 93 : July, 2014

Ana Lía Passarotto examines the factors involved in making the right choice.

 Despite such a discouraging introduction, there must be something in books which makes us talk
about them, keep on using them and periodically rack our brains as to their validity and
usefulness.
 The book must also present:
 a plausible graded grammar syllabus,
 motivating cognitively challenging material,
 engaging tasks,
 recycling of language,
 sample tests and revision activities
 Depending on the level, it may, also provide:
 an answer key for self-correction.
 If possible, it should be reasonably priced.
 Thus, the modern textbook is expected to make provision for
 different learning styles, a
 diversity of learning backgrounds and:
 different learning rhythms and paces
 The coursebook should be
 appropriate to the teacher’s learning context and
 in accordance with the students’ general socio-cultural conceptions.
 The material included in the book is expected to
 provoke reflection on the
 language being learnt and on the way it is being learnt,
 provide opportunities for reflection on values and attitudes.

It is not uncommon for coursebooks to have core learning material

accompanied by tasks and exercises aimed at different levels ability

 They can be built around a language syllabus, a grammar syllabus, a functional syllabus, a
learner-involvement syllabus or a multi syllabus, incorporating combinations of different
syllabuses ...

Multi-syllabus Textbooks:
  ,offer a considerable variety of lesson designs and activity types.
 allow the students to participate actively in choosing what language they want to learn,
 give great importance to the systematic teaching of vocabulary,
 dictionary use will be an integral part of the course;
 some reading and listening material will be deliberately pitched above the productive level of the group of
learners, pronunciation work will be built into the lessons.
 More often than not, each unit will be organised around a thematic area, for example ‘Families’.
 include a comprehensive grammar and vocabulary syllabus,
 incorporate systematic work on listening, speaking, reading and writing;
 it may do so on a task-based basis.

Definition of a task:
The term is often used in the same way as exercise to refer to any language-learning activity –
anything from gap-filling to poetry writing. But a task in task-based teaching, task is taken to mean an
oral or written activity in which the primary goal is to achieve a particular outcome or product. Such
tasks may include interviews, storytelling, problem-solving activities and discussions, and so on. As
the task is treated as an end in itself, rather than an opportunity to practise specific language, it
should be intrinsically motivating and directly related to real life.

How, then, can we approach the daunting challenge of choosing the right coursebook for
us? There is an enormous variety of coursebooks to choose from, and although no single one will ever include
everything we need or want... each book will have something we like. Here are some factors to consider:

Longevity
As choosing a new book is a demanding, time-consuming activity, the TB should be likely to be used for at least three
years. Such a timescale will give the coursebook a chance to succeed: we need time to get used to working with it and
to personalise the material to suit our needs.
Flexibility
The framework and format should reflect good practice and current methodological trends. The framework
methodology should not prevent teachers in a wide variety of contexts from using the book as the basis of their
content (what they teach) while taking a different approach in their own classroom (how they teach it). As Ingrid
Freebairn puts it: ‘Materials suit people, not just situations. Very different people can learn from the same
coursebook, even if it is not “ideal”.’
Content
Content should not include anything that might be incorrect or offensive, The TB should predict what will interest
students in different cultures and geographical areas. Modern media give everybody access to up-to-date material that
cannot be incorporated in a coursebook – and which will certainly prove more interesting to the students. The TB
should propose consulting the internet to seek information, the teacher can always refer the students to it and
afterwards have them share their findings in class. The contents ... must certainly be appropriate to the age of the
students, and will vary according to the curriculum and the type of exam y for which SS should be prepared.
Syllabus
A TB should be based on a language syllabus. Within this syllabus, the content, topics, functions and sequence
are often largely determined by such factors as the requirements of international examinations. Experienced teachers
can, and most likely will, skip or modify any material they do not feel comfortable with.
Differentiated tasks
It is not uncommon for a TB to have core learning material accompanied by tasks and exercises aimed at different
levels of ability, so that more advanced students can move on to subsequent exercises, while the weaker ones
concentrate on the simpler activities. This arrangement eases the teacher’s task of keeping a heterogeneous group
working together, while at the same time helping individual students to progress at their own pace. Multi-level tasks,
where the students work on slightly different versions of the same task, help keep the class working in unison but at
different levels of difficulty. There are two basic types of multi-level task: tiered activities and bias activities.
Tiered activities produce very similar results for all the students involved, thus allowing for class feedback. Weaker
students work at easier tasks, while stronger ones work at the more complex activities. Bias activities obtain
complementary results for student pairs, leading to student–student feedback. In this way, the stronger students help
the weaker ones.
Recycling
Learning does not happen in a linear fashion: it resembles a spiral watch-spring rather than a straight line. Recycling
new material and presenting it to the learners again in different contexts is an important aspect of language teaching.
A good TB provides the students with as many opportunities as possible to encounter new language, and these
opportunities are spaced at regular intervals, allowing cyclical reinforcement of learning.
Support for teachers
Well-chosen course materials encompass almost everything a teacher needs: texts songs, pictures, CDs and… yes, the
Teacher’s Book! Experienced teachers may not need one, but a Teacher’s Book can be invaluable to inexperienced
educators. If you decide that you will use one, remember that it should offer an explanation of the principles,
objectives and rationale behind the course. Clear guidelines as to how the course materials can be used are also a
must.
.

Advice to teachers

Almost all of us will end up working with a coursebook at some point in our careers. For a book or any other tool to
work well, we must feel comfortable using it. So choose a book you feel attracted to, a book you believe you will be
happy to use. If you find it attractive, your students will probably find it attractive, too. Your feelings about the book –
whether your enjoy it or it bores you stiff – will inevitably be reflected in your teaching. You might want to choose a
coursebook written by an author you respect and admire. This will help you deal respectfully with the material, and
this attitude will also show in the way you use the book. Remember that you don’t have to follow the coursebook
slavishly and uncritically. ‘Adapt, don’t adopt’ as my methodology teacher used to say. You
are the person best placed to discover your students’ needs and devise the best way to cater for them. And it is this
ability to detect individual needs that enables you, as a teacher, to analyse any coursebook critically, to take from it
whatever your learners need and to supplement it with extra material if necessary. When choosing a book, trust your
own good judgement, knowledge, teaching abilities and inner feelings – and put all of them into action. Good
luck! Browse through our archive of, downloadable articles from previous issues – ideal for inspiration or research.
Add your opinions to ongoing discussions and comment on articles that you have read. Visit our bookshop for recommendations –
and discounts. Watch videos and read blogs by award-winning blogger Chia Suan
Chong. Download our guidelines for contributors and think about the article that you could write for the magazine.
Renew your subscription online and make sure you don’t miss a single issue.

Freebairn, I ‘The coursebook – future continuous or past?’ English Teaching Professional 15 2000 Ana Lía Passarotto had a
long career as a tertiary-level teacher and coordinator and currently gives private tuition to students preparing to
take international examinations, as well as providing coaching for aspiring teachers. She lectures and contributes to educational books and

magazines in English and Spanish, and also work as a freelance translator. RESULTS

(This is easier said than

 done in an age in which books are

 mass-produced for a global market.)