Advantages and disadvantages of using materials, textbooks and coursebooks

Choosing materials and textbooks has always been one of the crucial points in teaching languages. This is under the hot discussion among language practitioners and materials designers. Yet, addressing to this issue, we should firstly define the difference between materials and textbooks. In many cases the term “materials” is used in place of “textbooks”, which refers to anything that is used by teachers or students to facilitate the learning of a language. The term “textbooks” is still widely used, but its reference has expanded from books to all the materials used around or independent of the books. A textbook is meant to provide the core materials for a course. It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and is designed so that it could serve as the only book learners use during a course. The textbook is an almost universal element of [English language] teaching. No teaching-learning situation, it seems, is complete until it has its relevant textbook. Types of EFL materials:

• •    Printed materials : ex. books, workbooks, worksheets, readers

• •    Non-print materials: ex. cassette, audio materials, videos

• •    Both print and non-print sources: ex. self-access materials, materials on the Internet, magazines, newspapers, TV programs

The textbook is the most tangible and visible aspect of the curriculum. According to Nunan, “what gets included in materials largely defines what may count as ‘legitimate knowledge’. The way materials are organised and presented, as well as the types of content and activities, will help shape a learner’s view of language”.

As Gray points out, “ELT materials produced in Britain and the US for use in classrooms around the world are sources not only of grammar, lexis, activities for language practice, but like Levis’ Jeans and Coca Cola, commodities which are imbued with cultural promise. In the case of ELT course books, it is the promise of entry into an international speech community which is represented in what tend to be very idealised terms”. Gray (2000:274)

Thus, the choice of a particular textbook signals a major educational decision since a textbook will define, to a large extent, what teachers will teach, how they will teach and even what students will learn.

We can list several advantages of textbooks:

• ■    They provide structure and a syllabus for a program

• ■    They help standardize instruction

• ■    They maintain quality

• ■    They provide a variety of learning resources

• ■    They can provide effective language models and input

• ■    They can train teachers

• ■    They are visually appealing

• ■    They are an effective resource for self-directed learning; an effective resource for presentation material; a source of ideas and activities;

• ■    They allow the teacher to manage and organise the learning process more efficiently.

• ■    They give direction to lessons, they guide discussions, they provide continuity to the learning process and provide a plan of action to the teacher.

In short, they offer security to teachers; the teacher does not have to make important decisions on what to teach, in which order and how to teach (this is particularly useful for inexperienced teachers who lack the skills and confidence for developing materials of their own). Textbooks can also save teachers a lot of time since they offer a wealth of activities and ideas for language development and practice. One of the primary advantages of using textbooks is that they are psychologically essential for students since their progress and achievement can be measured concretely when we use them. For learners, textbooks act as reference books and guides. On the basis of their textbook, students know what has been covered (and thus what they should have learnt) and what needs to be covered (i.e. what they still need to learn). Textbooks can also facilitate the introduction of an innovation and can act as agents of change (see Hutchinson and Torres, 1994). New ideas and methods can be embodied in a textbook and introduced gradually enabling teachers to become familiar and comfortable with new ideas.

As well as advantages, there are also some disadvantages of textbooks.

• •    Failure to adequately describe the levels of learners. Textbooks often use the terms “beginner” “intermediate” etc. rather loosely and indiscriminately.

• •    Omission of course rationale. Many textbooks fail to identify who the book is intended for (i.e. age and assumed background of learners), what theoretical principles have informed its design and how the material has been sequenced and graded.

• •    Looseness in the use of terms. In order to appear up to date many textbooks claim to be communicative, task-based and contain authentic materials but examination of their contents proves the contrary.

• •    Distortion of content. In order to make textbooks acceptable in different teaching contexts, topics and content in general which can be considered taboo or controversial are avoided. As result students are presented with a idealised middle-class view of the world.

• •    Adoption of traditional language learning processes. Many textbooks are not up-to-date with current research in Second Language Acquisition and may include language learning activities which have proved to be ineffective.

• •    Unhelpful teacher guides. Many coursebooks are accompanied by teacher guides which essentially provide a key to the textbook activities and no substantial support or guidance on how to implement the course.

• •    Failure to recognise constraints present in most teaching contexts. [Based on Richards 2001, Sheldon 1988]

In conclusion we can say that choosing appropriate materials for teaching may define the effectiveness of our teaching and makes the task of it easier and more enjoyable.