HOW NECESSARY IS A COURSEBOOK?

 Based on Penny Ur. "A Course in Language Teaching".

HOW NECESSARY IS A COURSEBOOK?

That’s the question that Penny Ur asks in her book “A course in Language Teaching”. Actually, is an excellent question, considering that the most of our schools use coursebooks, and, furthermore, our Ministry of Education distribute coursebooks to every school supported by the Goverment.

But, again, how necessary are they? Can we, teachers of English, live without them?

Few sessions ago, we checked this testimony:

“Maria:.They  made  us  read  the  national  syllabus  in my  teacher-training  course,  but  I haven't  looked  at  it  since.  What  for?  ln my  [state]  school  we use  a  class coursebook  which  lays  out  all  the  language  I have  to  teach,  as  well  as  giving  me texts,  exercises  and  ideas  for  activities.  I  assume  the Ministrv  would  not  have authorized  the  book  if  it  didn't  accord  with  the  syllabus,  so  there's  no  reason  for me  to double-check  if  l'm  teaching  the  right  things”. (Penny Ur. A Course in Language Teaching, p.180.)

I, personally, have no doubt that the material given by the Ministry is good material. I have checked some books, and found that they are just  unfairly branded as tools that cannot be used. I found there are many activities that are very useful. Actually, whole books are very useful! What really called my attention was that, although these books are plenty of material to develope the four skills of language, teachers are just using the activities that have to do with grammar, writing and reading.

So, its very easy to blame a book, or the Ministry of having not communicative achievments, but, if teachers followed the instructions or, at least, implemented oral activities as writen, I’m sure the results would be far different from now. You just need to take a look of the Syllabus of the Ministry to realize that leaders have great ideas, but the ones that carry them out, are doing just half of their work.

http://www.curriculum-mineduc.cl/curriculum/

But, getting back to the first question. How necessary is a coursebook?

Penny Ur sets out some benefits of using a course book, such as:

1.A course provides a clear framework that gives a sense of structure and progress.

2.In many  places  the  coursebook  serves  as  a  syllabus.

3. It provides ready-made  texts and  tasks what saves  time  for  the  teacher.

4. A book  is  the  cheapest  way  of providing  learning  material  for  each  learner.

5. It  is  of a  shape that  is  easily  packed  and  stacked;  it  does  not  depend  for  its  use  on hardware  or  a supply  of electricity.

6. The  coursebook  can  provide  useful  guidance  and  support.

7. The  learner  can  use  the  coursebook  to  learn  new material,  review  and  monitor progress  with  some  degree  of  autonomy.

Of course I agree with all those benefits! If we followed each of those points, teaching  would be something much more easier than now!

But again, how necessary is a coursebook?  A coursebook is NOT neccesary to teach. It’s an excellent tool that we have to check, then double check, and then go straight to our syllabus to work on the activities and the contents that we are going to give to our students.

If we are good teachers, we can create our own framework and syllabus, according, of course, to the plan of the institution we are working for. The activities in a book can be developed, but also can be modifed according to the needs of our students. We also can pick up activities from other books, from the internet, from a class we remember, etc. We are free and capable of creating our own activities that will supply the needs, considering that books are not made for every context. And remember, each student has a different context.

A book given by the goverment is, of course, the cheapest material. They are free! No discussion at this point. But a good teacher make up a wonderful class without a penny.

The only idea that I cannot refute is that a coursebook gives the student autonomy. And, when someone wants to make progress, it’s a wonderful idea that this person had his own material, and take a step forward by his/her own.

So, How necessary is a coursebook? It isn’t neccesary, but is an excellent tool.

Here you can find a very complete set of advices to adapt your coursebook much better to your class: http://prezi.com/obwlifsldwlh/adapting-your-coursebook/ by Tim Dalby.

Syllabus Template

8vo Año Enseñanza Básica

1^st Term 2011

Instructor: María Mercedes Yeomans C.  E-mail: yeoeme@hotmail.com

Office Hours: Virtual Office Hours. Present your doubts by e-mail. Answers in 24hrs.

Location in the Curriculum: Idioma Extranjero Inglés

Course Description: This course is going to be developed in a school located in Cerro Alegre in Valparaíso, called PUERTOPAZ. It is parcially financed by the goverment and provides education for students from Pre Kinder to 4 Año de Enseñanza Media.

It’s better known for the Christian Education its teachers provide and an special attention on the affective domain and the character of the student. Even though there are 14 levels, it is just compound by 250 students, aproximately.

The social surroanding is very important, because that specific place in Valparaíso is plenty of artistic manisfestations. Most of the parents are painters, musicians, sculptors and, as the hill became touristic, also owners of restaurants and all kind of stores.

This course is oriented to the acquisition of comunicative competences, in order to provide the student the tools to perform socially in a basic level.

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course, the students will:

• Recall visitor’s information.
• Understand opening and closing times (Listening)
• Be able to ask and give information about routines.
• Build structures to provide information by writing.
• Be able to ask and provide personal information.
• Responds effectively to unexpected experiences. 
• Express his/her likes and dislikes.
• Narrate experiences or descriptions of life in the past

Course Format: On-site classes and field trip (eventually).

Course Requirements:

• This class requires a 85% of attendance.
• Cellphones are not allowed.
• Students can arrive maximum 10 minutes late if they are justified by a supervisor.
• Each class the students will have a quiz about the contents of the previous class.(25%).
• There are going to be three quizzes(25%), two written and one oral; and a Middterm (15%) and a Final Exam (35%), both oral.

Required Texts:  “American Shine For Teens, Student’s Book 2”. Judy Garton-Sprenger and Philip Prowse. Macmillan.

 Course schedule by sessions and list of readings for each:

Attention, Perception and Connections

Lights are appearing while I’m walking through this path. Every single thing is getting sense and connects, more important than with all the previous knowledge, with the real experiences I have lived.

A meaningful learning cannot exist if first it really means something to us. As a student I can remember lots of meaningful learnings, which are all related to feelings. “Attention”, “perception” and “connections” are words that take me to my own examples of learning.

Someone could think that it is just needed to call the attention of a kid to achieve the objective of learning.  And probably a few people try to teach that way. It could work, if the process of perception and making connections worked in every person without stimulus. I’m sure there are students that can manage it, but there are others that cannot. Certainly, it is a duty of the teacher to stimulate the perception and the creation of links, by carring out proper activities. 

 “Students choose any special occasion and write 5 invitations. Remind them to give the detail of time and place, and the type of celebration. They then swap with their partner and write a reply”. ( David A. Hiv, English 7 Explorer, Activity 4, page 89).

The teacher is giving the students the opportunity to choose the celebration they prefer. Of course the students are going to get interested in this activity. After that, they must create and reply invitations, in which they must apply their knowledge. In top of that, they are certainly making connections with their own experiences, by working on special occasions, which, the most of the times, are plenty of special feelings. A kid would invite someone to his/ her own birthday party, for example. This kid will imagine the cake, the balloons, the presents, the games... everything, just by creating an invitation. This way, calling the student's attention first, achieving the perception and leading the student to make connections with his/her own experiences, this activity will turn into an effective lesson, and a meaningful learning experience.

A Few Words Related to Methodology