A Course in Language Teaching: Module 13

Penny Ur

1. How necessary is a course book? Explain advantages and disadvantage of using it in the classroom
in your opinion.

In some places course books are taken for granted. In others they may not be used at all: the teacher
works according to a syllabus, or according to his or her own programme, using text books and
supplementary materials as the need arises. A third situation is where a course book is used selectively,
not necessarily in sequence, and is extensively supplemented by other materials.

Advantages of using a course book: it is a structured material which gives a sense of progress for both,
teachers and learners, as they know where they are going and what is coming next. A course book can be
used as a syllabus and also provides texts and learning tasks which are likely to be of an appropriate level
for most of the class. Finally, for teachers who are inexperienced or occasionally unsure of their
knowledge of the second language, the course book can provide guidance and support.

Disadvantages of using a course book: Every learner has their own learning needs: no one course book
can possibly supply these satisfactorily. A course book is confining: its set structure and sequence may
limit a teacher´s initiative and creativity, and lead to boredom and lack of motivation on the part of
students. Additionally, course books have their own chosen teaching/learning approach; they do not
usually cater for the variety of levels of ability and knowledge, or of learning style and strategies that
exist in most classes. What is more, some teachers find it too easy to follow a course book uncritically;
they may find themselves functioning merely as mediators of its content instead of as teachers in their
own right.

2. Explain the main criteria for assessing a course book. What are the most important points
according to you?
The main criteria for assessing a course book will determinate weather or not you select that book and
on what ground you might reject or criticize it. Such criteria may be general, applicable to any language-
teaching course book, or specific, relating to the appropriateness of the book for a certain group.
The most important points for assessing a course book are:
 Approach educationally and socially acceptable to target community.
 Appropriate visual materials available.
 Varied topics and tasks, so as to provide for different learner levels, learning styles, interests,
etc.
 Clear instructions.
 Periodic review and test sections.
 Plenty of authentic language.
 Fluency practice in all four skills.
 Encourages learners to develop own learning strategies and to become independent in their
learning.
 Adequate guidance for the teacher; not too heavy preparation load.
3. What materials, exercises, tasks, etc. should the book include to suit the needs of your students?

Any single unit of a course book should cover a fair range of language content and skills. Such as,
pronunciation practice, introduction of new vocabulary and practice, grammar explanations and
practice, listening and speaking communicative tasks, reading and writing communicative tasks, short
and long reading texts, review of previous learnt material and some entertaining or fun activities.

If the tasks of a unit are too short and do not provide for very much learner activity, they can be
extended by adding further similar items or by making items open-ended instead of closed-ended so
that each can trigger a number of learner responses, or by simply supplementing with further activities
of your own. You may need to supplement also in order to provide material which is more relevant to
their individual or group needs.

4. What extra materials do you need to supplement the course book? Which ones are essential for
you?

Most language-teaching course books probably need supplementing to some extent, if only in order to
tailor them to the needs of a particular class or to offer richer options.

 Computers: They enable individual work, since learners can progress at their own pace, and
many programs include a self-check facility. Also, learners find the use of computers attractive
and motivating.
 Books: it is very useful to have a collection of reference books, extra textbooks and teachers’
handbooks easily available to the teaching staff. Books are very user-friendly packages of
material since they are easily scanned, easily stacked and do not need hardware or electricity.
 Overhead projectors: Are useful for presenting visual or written material to classes. They are
more vivid and attention-catching than the blackboards. They also save lesson time, since you
can prepare the displays in advance.
 Video equipment: It is an excellent source of authentic spoken language material. It is also
attractive and motivating. It is flexible: you can start and stop it, run forward or back, “freeze”
frames in order to talk about them. When planning a video lesson, always have a back-up
alternative lesson ready, in case of technical problems.
 Posters, pictures, games: Materials of this kind are invaluable particularly for younger learners,
and teachers find that students constantly use them. Pictures and posters serve as a visual
stimulus, while games use both visual and aural channels and activate language production and,
sometimes, physical movement. Young learners love to play, and they participate in a game with
more enthusiasm and willingness than in any other classroom task.

5. Do you create your own material? If so, what type of material do you usually create for your class
and why?

Good teacher-made materials are arguably the best there are: relevant, personalized, answering the
needs of the learners in a way no other materials can.
For the second year teaching practices, (this year we did them virtually) most of the resources used were
created by us. A good example is, when we work with healthy and unhealthy food, as a final task we
created an "Instagram post" poster which the students had to complete with the food they had. The idea
was to work the contents of the curriculum in a more up-to-date way, taking into account the new
technologies and the interests of the students.

“You are going to make Instagram posters. You can use the example the teacher will show you as a guide. You have
to include: name of the group members, school name, course, subject, name of the food item, colour, taste
(delicious/disgusting), size (small/big), healthy or unhealthy, and category (vegetable/fruit/meat). And also you
have to comment if you like the food item or not and why.”