Coursebooks and Materials

Thinking about your own experience, brainstorm as many pros and cons to using
coursebooks as the core of a course as you can.

Reasons to use a Reasons NOT to use a

COURSEBOOK COURSEBOOK
e.g. Coursebooks can help to reduce e.g. Material may be inauthentic and
1
teacher preparation time. therefore contrived or artificial

Learners have a written record of what they Material may be inauthentic and therefore
2
have learned. contrived or artificial.

It is possible for learners to look ahead at

Learners might have specific needs not met by
3 what they will be studying or look back at
the coursebook.
what they have already studied.

Coursebooks are generally written by

Subject matter may be unsuitable for the
people with many years’ experience in the
4 cultural context e.g. many coursebooks are
field of ELT and we can reap the benefit of
quite Eurocentric.
their ideas.

As busy teachers they save us a lot of time We might consider the subject matter dull for
5
in terms of preparation. our learners.

Coursebooks very often include useful

6 appendices e.g. of irregular verbs, To take a break from the coursebook.
grammar reference etc.

To take advantage of other media such as the

7 They may have in-built recycling systems.
internet.

They very often have useful supplementary

8 materials such as workbooks, tests, videos, To vary ways of presenting new language.
CD-ROMs and resource packs.

We can rarely compete with the standard of

The information in the coursebook may not be
9 presentation and quality of recordings etc.
up to date.
in materials we produce ourselves.

Materials are pitched at the level of our

10 learners and they can usually be adapted to The coursebook may be lexically limiting.
suit our learners’ needs.

They provide comprehensive coverage of

11 topics via a balance of tried and tested Learners might not like them.
ideas.

They are sequenced and so provide

12 They can have a rigid, predictable structure.
continuity and a sense of syllabus.

Learners expect to use them i.e. they form Learners might need further practice and
13 part of the “public” view of how language coursebooks tend to provide a limiting range of
learning should take place. controlled (often written) practice.