Course Books: friend or foe?
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Page 1 of 2 In this issue: ✔ Course books: friend or foe? ✔ No course book? No problem ✔Teacher tidbits Most institutions today require us to use a particular course book with our classes. There are very good reasons for doing this. Primarily, the course book will act as the syllabus for the course we are teaching. Syllabus design, with all the inherent concerns of staging, grading, ordering and so on is a very complicated and difficult process to get right, so having all of this provided for us by the course book is a great comfort. However, as teachers, we worry about making our lessons learner-centred and catering for the different learning styles and attitudes of our students, so doesn’t the requirement of using a fixed course book for all classes fly in the face of this? Isn’t this trying to use a ‘one size fits all’ solution to different groups of different individuals, each with their own interests and needs? Well, the short answer is ‘no’, but it depends on how you approach your course book. If you approach the book as a text to be followed religiously, each word to be digested and followed in turn, never deviating from the prescribed course, then perhaps the answer would be ‘yes’, but I would advocate a very different approach. As a teacher, and more recently as a course book developer and editor, I would argue that the course book should be seen as a framework on which to hang your lessons and as a springboard for creating rich learning opportunities. It should suit your particular students, in your particular learning environment and at your particular time. And all this can be achieved through the art of supplementing. Making the most of the course book We adapt our course books for many reasons: perhaps the particular page we are working on doesn’t provide enough practice for the class in question, or perhaps the particular topic doesn’t excite the interest of the group. Whatever the reason, the principles are the same and can be distilled into the following advice. 1. Supplement, don’t replace. Supplementing means adding to the activities in the course book to better suit the needs of the learners. In principle, we should supplement to provide more than what is in the course book, however, the course book activities are there for a reason and so you should try to include them. 2. Supplementing doesn’t always mean photocopying. Many people think that supplementing means creating or copying worksheets. This is not always the case. Think of how you can include warmers, games, or even DIY exercises and (student-generated) worksheets to add to the book. 3. Don’t follow rubrics slavishly. Just because the course book tells you to do something in one way, it doesn’t mean you have to. Sometimes authors will miss the opportunity, particularly for group and pair work. Doing an exercise in a new and imaginative way can help to lift the book off the page. 4. Have a good reason to do what you are doing. Don’t supplement or adapt merely for the sake of it. Make sure that you have a very good reason for what you are doing and that you are clear about the aims. Not only will this make the activity easier to conduct, but it will make it more interesting for all. 5. Change the content, not the exercise. A practical idea for supplementing is to adapt exercises by changing or adding to the content but keeping the same exercise framework and aims. This helps to keep the flow of the course book syllabus intact, but will also help to make the content more relevant to the group and is particularly useful in an ESP context. Course books: friend or foe? Issue 7 www.ef.com/teacher EF’S NEWSLETTER FOR TEACHERS Educator Monthly EF Educator Monthly is distributed to teachers in a variety of institutions and teaching environments; some will have a choice of teaching materials, some will have no choice, and yet others will have no course books at all. This month we look at the pros and cons of using course books: how to work with them and how to work without them. The EF Educator Monthly is designed by and for teachers; if you have any suggestions for content or themes for future newsletters, contact the Editor [email protected]. Chris Flint Editor London, UK
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Transcript of Course Books: friend or foe?
Page 1 of 2
In this issue:
� Course books: friend or foe?
� No course book? No problem
�Teacher tidbits
Most institutions today require us to use a particularcourse book with our classes. There are very goodreasons for doing this. Primarily, the course book willact as the syllabus for the course we are teaching.Syllabus design, with all the inherent concerns ofstaging, grading, ordering and so on is a verycomplicated and difficult process to get right, so having all of this provided for us by the course book is a great comfort.
However, as teachers, we worry about making ourlessons learner-centred and catering for the differentlearning styles and attitudes of our students, so doesn’tthe requirement of using a fixed course book for allclasses fly in the face of this? Isn’t this trying to use a‘one size fits all’ solution to different groups of differentindividuals, each with their own interests and needs?
Well, the short answer is ‘no’, but it depends on howyou approach your course book. If you approach thebook as a text to be followed religiously, each word tobe digested and followed in turn, never deviating fromthe prescribed course, then perhaps the answer wouldbe ‘yes’, but I would advocate a very different approach.
As a teacher, and more recently as a course bookdeveloper and editor, I would argue that the coursebook should be seen as a framework on which to hangyour lessons and as a springboard for creating richlearning opportunities. It should suit your particularstudents, in your particular learning environment and atyour particular time. And all this can be achievedthrough the art of supplementing.
Making the most of the course bookWe adapt our course books for many reasons: perhapsthe particular page we are working on doesn’t provideenough practice for the class in question, or perhapsthe particular topic doesn’t excite the interest of thegroup. Whatever the reason, the principles are thesame and can be distilled into the following advice.
1. Supplement, don’t replace.Supplementing means adding to the activities in thecourse book to better suit the needs of the learners. Inprinciple, we should supplement to provide more thanwhat is in the course book, however, the course bookactivities are there for a reason and so you should try toinclude them.
2. Supplementing doesn’t always mean photocopying.Many people think that supplementing means creatingor copying worksheets. This is not always the case.Think of how you can include warmers, games, or evenDIY exercises and (student-generated) worksheets toadd to the book.
3. Don’t follow rubrics slavishly.Just because the course book tells you to dosomething in one way, it doesn’t mean you have to.Sometimes authors will miss the opportunity, particularlyfor group and pair work. Doing an exercise in a newand imaginative way can help to lift the book off the page.
4. Have a good reason to do what you are doing.Don’t supplement or adapt merely for the sake of it.Make sure that you have a very good reason for whatyou are doing and that you are clear about the aims.Not only will this make the activity easier to conduct,but it will make it more interesting for all.
5. Change the content, not the exercise.A practical idea for supplementing is to adapt exercisesby changing or adding to the content but keeping thesame exercise framework and aims. This helps to keepthe flow of the course book syllabus intact, but will alsohelp to make the content more relevant to the groupand is particularly useful in an ESP context.
Course books: friend or foe?
Issue 7www.ef.com/teacher
EF’S NEWSLETTER FOR TEACHERS
Educator Monthly
EF Educator Monthly is distributed to teachersin a variety of institutions
and teaching environments;some will have a choice ofteaching materials, some willhave no choice, and yetothers will have no coursebooks at all. This month welook at the pros and cons ofusing course books: how towork with them and how towork without them.
The EF Educator Monthly isdesigned by and for teachers;if you have any suggestionsfor content or themes forfuture newsletters, contact theEditor [email protected].
Chris FlintEditorLondon, UK
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6. Change the exercise, not the content. Of course, if the content is fine, but the exercise toohard, or not appropriate, then do the opposite andchange the exercise not the content. The principle ofgrading the exercise and not the content makes it easyto cope with multi-level classes.
7. Be careful what you cut. As we saw earlier, the course book is your syllabus. Ifyou are omitting an exercise make sure that it doesn’tpresent content which is required later.
8. Not everyone has to do everything.An interesting way to adapt a course book is to dividethe class into different groups working on different partsof the book. When they have finished, they can present
their work and answers to the rest of the class. This is very good for getting students to think aboutlearning processes.
ConclusionIn conclusion, although the compulsory course book isa good thing, slavishly following it is not. As you gainexperience of the particular book you will gain asensitivity as to how it may be adapted andsupplemented to suit the needs of your learners andhow you can move from the ‘one size fits all’ approachto producing a more ‘tailored fit’.
Luca MarchioriDevelopment Editor (Efekta)Bournemouth, UK
Student-generated role-playsfrom grammar
Even if you’re using a coursebook with plenty of grammarexamples, it’s neverthelessvaluable to create your ownrealistic contexts in which thegrammar you are covering isused. If you’re not, thenpresumably that’s part of yourplanning process anyway andyou’ve considered what languagemight come from the topics andtasks you will set. But whenreviewing the work of theprevious weeks, what abouthanding the job to the students?
Divide the class into small groupsgiving each a grammar structure.Ask the groups to invent a role-play – situation, characters andtasks – which requires them touse their structure. The task canbe a simple description of asituation or more sophisticated,with separate role cards for thevarious characters. Their role-plays can then be passed toanother group to perform, withoutthe aid of knowing the originalstructure.
There’s more than one way tocrack an egg, of course, and itmay be that the performers takea different route in completing thetask than the writers had originallyenvisaged; but that itself willprovide fertile ground fordiscussion.
Teacher Tidbits
EF Educator Monthly – Issue 7
Even the most militant advocates of a material-freeapproach would accept the valuable role course booksplay in the initial stages of a teacher’s professionaldevelopment. However, there may eventually come atime when you feel that the books you have at yourdisposal are insufficient, either in their content, or evenin their number. What are your options when, for onereason or another, you have to go without the course book.
Let your students find the topics Most modern course books are structured aroundthemes or tasks; themes and tasks which may or maynot suit your students at the time. Be bold and let theclass establish the topics that will appear in theirsyllabus. Use the first lesson to talk about their intereststhrough questionnaire and survey tasks: from what theydo in their free-time and what’s in the news, to what willaffect their lives in the next ten or twenty years. It will beclear from how animated they become, which will makesuccessful lessons in the coming weeks.
Establish your students’ individual objectivesIt will be important when you come to develop lessonplans that you are aware of what the particular learningneeds of your students are. If you are moving away from using a course book, you may as well use theopportunity to tailor the lesson content to their uniquepurposes: greater fluency, broader vocabulary or better pronunciation.
Grammar / Vocabulary / Pronunciation Students will always appreciate the integration of clearand defined language input within the topic-basedlesson and without the structure of a course bookstudents are likely to look to you for specific guidance inthat regard. It is important to plan and signpost whichaspects of grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation workyou intend to introduce in each lesson.
Differentiation and varietyFreeing yourself from the course book allows you tothink more about differentiation in task objectives and toincorporate more variety than might be offered in abook’s lesson procedures. The springboards fordiscussion and activities in course books tend to bereading or listening stimuli created for the level; butgrading the task is more appropriate than grading the material, so, within reason, seek out engagingauthentic materials.
Course book writers are always coming up with newand inspiring ways of motivating teachers and studentsalike, and it always valuable to return to their books; notleast to get ideas for your book-free lessons. Asteachers running book-free lessons, we lay down an on-going challenge to writers to make course books betterand more innovative.
No course book? No problem
