The value attached to coursebooks will be dealt with in terms
of the advantages and disadvantages of these teaching materials through their
functions in English language teaching. Understanding the various views as to
the necessity (or redundancy) of ELT
coursebooks is informative as it can help appreciate the
value attached to them in general. Additionally, the value of the coursebook in
teaching is surveyed as the second research question, investigated using a
questionnaire, will explore learners' attitudes towards its use. Emphasising
the importance of textbooks, Hutchinson and Torres (1994) argue that
[r]ather than denigrating and trying to do away with
textbooks, we should recognize their importance in making the lives of teachers
and learners easier, more secure and fruitful, and seek a fuller understanding
of their use in order to exploit their full potential as agents of smooth and
effective change (p. 327).
Hutchinson and Torres (1994) stress the fact that coursebooks
are important for learners and teachers, as will be outlined in the following
sub-section.
Various researchers have documented the advantages of using
coursebooks in English language teaching, which could be summed up in two main
general benefits; (1) facilitating the job of the teachers and (2) scaffolding
learners in their attempt to learn the language.
For instance, Hutchinson and Torres (1994) assert that
«[n]o teaching-learning situation, it seems, is complete until it has its
relevant textbook» (p. 315). Thus, for Hutchinson and Torres (1994), ELT
coursebooks play a central role in the process of learning and it is inevitable
to use a coursebook in teaching English.
Indeed, the coursebook is an effective way of organising ELT
materials because compiling, sequencing, and grading texts, pictures, and
exercises in a coherent textbook is extremely helpful for the English teacher
(Tomlinson, 2001). Similarly, the piling up of the materials in one body adds
reliability and connection to courses and provides the learners
with ready-made coherent materials that could make their
learning progress at a steady pace predictable for them as well as for the
teachers (Haycroft, 1998).
Another function of coursebooks is the promotion of learners'
autonomy, which means providing them with a good opportunity to rely on
themselves through self revision and rehearsal (Richards, n.d). Then, the
coursebook is claimed to be of paramount importance both for the learners to
revise and for the teachers to prepare their courses (ibid). Richards (n.d)
states eight advantages of ELT coursebooks, which will be summarised and
explained in this sub-section before discussing them in the following one:
· Providing a coherent syllabus
· Promoting the standardisation of instruction
· Maintaining quality
· Providing a variety of learning resources
· Guiding teaching
· Providing valuable language models and input
· Training teachers
· Motivating learners
First, coursebooks provide «a structure and a syllabus
for a program» (Richards, n.d, p. 1), which is important as learners are
better helped when they could go back to a concrete reference that contains
content relevant to the syllabus. Second, «[Textbooks] help standardize
instruction» (ibid) in the sense of providing all learners regardless of
their group of study with the same content, which is important specifically for
better administration. Third, «they maintain quality» (ibid), that is
providing learners with tested, theory-based, and graded material. Publishers
of global coursebooks claim that these qualities are manifested in global
coursebooks.
Fourth, «they provide a variety of learning
resources» (Richards, n.d, p. 1) when they are supplemented with other
novel motivating resources such as CDs and workbooks. In fact, supplementary
materials are very helpful as they provide relevant homework activities that
meet various learning styles. Fifth, «they are efficient» (ibid) as
they are time and energy preservers for teachers who could as a result keep
focused on how to help learners learn not on what to use as materials. Hence,
the coursebook acts as a means of facilitating the job of the teacher.
Sixth, «they can provide effective language models and
input» (Richards, n.d, p. 2) especially for EFL teachers who speak English
as a second language. Seventh, «they can train teachers» (ibid), as a
`good' coursebook could help beginner teachers find their way in the profession
of teaching on the basis of previously checked materials. Finally, Richards
(ibid) states that coursebooks are «visually appealing» in the sense
of attracting learners' motivation, which serves effective learning. These
functions fulfilled by ELT coursebooks legitimate their importance for each
learning situation especially for two basic reasons; facilitating the job of
the teacher and scaffolding learners.
By the same token, ELT coursebooks are claimed to be the most
practical way of providing learners with coherent syllabus (Swales, 1980;
O'Neill, 1993; Hutchinson & Torres, 1994; Harmer, 2001; Toms, 2004). The
coursebook explored in this study Headway Intermediate (Soars and
Soars, 2003) is used at IBLV with adult learners. In this context H/I
represents a good frame for the learners and teachers to guarantee coverage of
content. However, coursebooks are not merely considered sources of input of a
benign nature for both learners and teachers as their content can be
interpreted differently by the end users regardless of the authors'
intentions.
Because textbooks have always been approached from a
utilitarian perspective, the ideological dimension is generally down-played and
even missed out. This means that it is possible that teachers and adult
learners at IBLV might see the coursebook they use as a necessary source of
language input for them that they give little attention to the
ideologically-loaded or offensive content.
