CELTA Online Unit 20: Coursebook Commentary

Coursebooks recycle language in a variety of ways.

Language can be recycled explicitly.

1. Often at the end of the unit there is a more extensive speaking or writing task which will encourage
students to draw on all the language learnt during the unit. For example, learners have covered lexis to
do with life events (graduate, get married, have children etc.) and present perfect simple and
continuous for talking about finished and unfinished actions. At the end of the unit, learners are then
asked to give a short talk in groups about important events in their life to date.

2. At the end of each unit there is often a page of extra practice activities reviewing the language taught
during the unit. In other coursebooks, there is similar material every three or four units, which can
review a range of language from the previous quarter or third of the book.

3. The accompanying teacher’s book and/or resource book will often include extra practice activities for
learners to review the language seen in the unit(s)

4. There are often a number of progress tests in the teacher’s book which can be adapted for learners so
that they reflect what has been looked at during the course

Language can also be recycled receptively.

5. This can be done through careful grading of the listening and reading texts to include examples of
grammar or lexis previously introduced. Such repeated exposure to language can play a vital role in its
retention and acquisition.

In addition, graded readers and graded video/DVD series can also be a source of recycling language.
Specific grammar and lexis are included and recycled throughout graded readers and videos in order to
afford learners plenty of contextualised exposure to the language. For this reason, they not only provide
useful extensive reading and listening practice but are also a valuable source of language.