Using Course Books and

Other Materials

The advantages of using a course

book

1.

2.

3.

4.

For the teacher:

Provides a useful framework, they are well
planned following the N.C.
Language progression has been carefully
considered and there is adequate recycling
Offers a variety of useful and attractivelooking materials, topics and activities that
engage students
Saves preparation time for the teacher


1.
2.
3.

For the student:

There is a visual record of progress
Easier access to material
The possibility to review work at
home

Course book assessment:deciding if

your textbook is useful for your
students

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

An ideal course book should have variety and balance

(language work skills work, pronunciation, review units, or
sections and grammar summaries) in other words it
should be a complete package for the students
In order to choose a suitable course book for their students
teachers should take into account the following:
If the course book is affordable for all the students
If the content of the book is appropriate (interesting and
stimulating topics, relevant for their age)
If the course book has the right balance of language skills
If the course book provides supplementary materials
(workbook, DVDs, teachers guide)
If the course book offers differentiated activities intended
for different learner styles

Using a course book

Using a course book is a teachers skill

(Harmer 2013:181)
That means they should be used critically
by the teacher. Teachers should not do
everything in the textbook from cover to
cover because this approach might not
engage and fully motivate students
Instead, teachers should evaluate critically
the material in the book in relation to
whom they are teaching


1.

2.
3.

4.

In adapting the course book material teachers have the

following options:
Omit materials completely if the topic is inappropriate,
difficult, easy or unclear to your students. A teacher can
replace the rejected material with something that is more
appropriate for that class.
Another option is to supplement what is in the course book
by bringing in home-grown materials (worksheets).
A teacher can rewrite parts of the book if she/he considers
that the practice activities are not suitable. For example
she/he can use different questions with some reading or
listening tasks or simplify texts/tasks.
A teacher can replace or reorder activities and lessons to
suit students needs.

Using supplementary materials

= any books or exercises that teachers use which are not

their course book
Examples: graded readers, teachers resource books (with
ideas for activities), websites, language practice books,
worksheets.
Teachers can also bring authentic materials in the
classroom=real-life material not specially published or
adapted for classroom use e.g. brochures, newspapers,
magazines, leaflets, notices, songs, TV program
It is good to use it because it is something your students
might be exposed to on any day
Dictionaries are one of the most useful resources for
language students. Teachers can train students to use
bilingual and monolingual dictionaries by performing
activities in which they are asked to identify what part of
speech a word is, how frequent a word is, what words it
collocates with etc.