Forums

1.- "I think it is impossible to find the perfect book; each one has good and bad features." I must admit that when I sarted teaching I relayed quite a lot on the books; as time went on I notice that to every book there were things one as a teacher could add or substract according to the Ss needs. Therefore I believe that the perfect book doesn't exist, but one can make a very close version to it.

2.- "A good coursebook should have themes which relate to the children, lots of recycling and lots of pictures." This is of course true to certain groups; however it will completely depend on the Ss. There will be the type of Ss who will prefer the audios instead of the pictures and so on.

3.-It isn't enough to have a Students' Book, Teacher's Book and Workbook; a teacher needs other things, like flash cards and supplementary components." I completely agree with this statement. Once the Ss are use to the book it will become monotonus. By providing extra material there is less chance for the Ss to get used and bored with the book.

4.- "My school chooses the coursebook. I don't have any say in the matter." Although it is true in my case, I am given the opportunity to change or suplement anything I see appropiate.

5.- "I like coursebooks with central characters and a story." I think this is a good idea for the youngest Ss due to the fact that they won't have to memorize names they won't use later on. However, for the not so young Ss this may be boring to have the same characters for all the lessons.

6.- "If the workbook has an answer key, the children just copy the answers." I must disagree, if they are "trained" to use the key as a resourse for verifying answers and not as a sourse of easy answers, then it will be quite usefuel.

7.- "We don't use coursebooks for very young learners at my school. I make all my own materials." In my case this is false; however the making of materials should be in all levels not just for the very young learners.

2. "A good coursebook should have themes which relate to the children, lots of recycling and lots of pictures."
I must agree with this statement. Pictures would catch the students' interest and recycling would consolidate what has been taught. Relatable themes are vital so that children see imporantance.

3. "It isn't enough to have a Students' Book, Teacher's Book and Workbook; a teacher needs other things, like flash cards and supplementary components."
I absolutely agree. Extra resources other than textbooks bring variety to the classroom, needless to say that it makes planning much easier!

4. "My school chooses the coursebook. I don't have any say in the matter."
That is a pity. I believe the teachers' opinion is pivotal when chosing a textbook. It is the teacher who is going to use it after all. All schools are businesses in the end, but a school who caters for the trendiest book or the cheapest one is clearly uninterested on attending their customers.

5. "I like coursebooks with central characters and a story."
Coursebooks like that are likeable because the sequence of activites and difficulty are seemingly easier to percieve. Nonetheless, I believe they might turn tedious or lame for some students.

6. "If the workbook has an answer key, the children just copy the answers."
That might be true, but does that mean that the teacher didn't have any say on the matter when choosing the book? Besides, it is the teacher's duty to manage the classroom; if students are copying their answers, there are poor managerial skills involved.

7. "We don't use coursebooks for very young learners at my school. I make all my own materials."
Although I AM pro making materials, it is overwhelmingly time consuming, especially when you are in charge of several groups. Therefore, I wouldn't reccommend not having a coursebook. It is refreshing for every teacher (and even students) to use original materials from time to time.