Job Discussion Forums

[Surrey100]

I've only just got my TESOL certificate. In lessons how much should one just follow the text book and how often should one use supplementary materials. When I did my TESOL I got the impression that it was the craper teachers who just follow the book 100% of the time and better teachers who often use supplementary materials. When I start working shortly I don't want to just follow the text book all of the time and appear to be a crap / dull teacher but at the same time there is only so much time in the day to prepare your own / supplementary materials. Therefore to be considered a good original teacher how often should one just follow the book and how often should one use supplementary materials. I would really appreciate a response from some of you more experienced and qualified teachers out there.

[Glenski]

A pretty general question that doesn't take into account what type of school one teaches at, nor the length of the lessons, nor the type of students. Pretty hard to answer all around.

In my high school, for example, we usually don't even have a textbook, and classes are only 45 minutes long.

If the textbook is good enough, use it as much as possible. I think you'll soon find that most ESL/EFL textbooks are pretty poorly written, so you will almost always have to make supplementary materials. How much you rely on either one depends on a lot of factors.

Always have a "plan B" when you go into a room to teach.
Always check the instructions on your lessons to be sure they are simple enough. If any native English speaker pauses for a moment when reading them, figure that they will be hard to too hard for a student.
Learn how to stretch a lesson, or to stop one that seems to be going well enough that you don't have to use entirely.

[tedkarma]

Don't worry about what other teachers are doing - worry about what your students need.

There is no set formula - because the use of supplemental materials should be determined (IMO) by how well the book fits the needs of the students. So, this will vary even when you teach the same class - but with different students - even of the same level. You'll notice when you start teaching that you can teach two classes of the exact same content to two groups of students at the same level and age - and they will be two very DIFFERENT classes. Their individual needs will be quite different.

I have classes where I use very little or even no supplemental material (I wrote the book ) - and classes where I use 92% supplemental material and only pretend to use the book (so the students won't complain they had to spend the money).

Student age and skill level obviously enter into this too - but I want to keep this post short . . .

[denise]

First, find out what your school requires! Sometimes there may be a set curriculum, or no curriculum, or anything in between...

You don`t always have to write all of your own supplementary materials. There are plenty of resources on the internet (including here at Dave`s in the "ideas cookbook" section), and your school and colleagues should also be able to help you. Since you`re a new teacher, they should be willing to help you get started and feel more comfortable!

And when you do write your own materials--yes, it takes time at first, but once you`ve designed something the first time, you should be able to recycle it for later use. Lesson prep time goes down dramatically the longer you teach.

But as to your question--if the book is good and I have the time and freedom (i.e., no school requirements to stick to the book), I try to have a more-or-less 50/50 ratio. Not always on the same day, though--if there�s something particularly lengthy or difficult in the book, I might spend an entire day on it, and then not use the book at all the next day.

Good luck!

d

[Jetgirly]

My school produces its own textbooks and they are crap. The students are CONSTANTLY complaining about the lack of grammar explanations, and the activities are mainly matching and fill-in-the-blank type questions. Plus, there are no authentic (or even faux-authentic) texts in the book. Consequently, I try to use my own materials whenever possible. The problem is, the school wants the students to purchase their textbooks (cash in pocket for the admin) so they discourage use of supplementary materials, which in turn results in the students complaining to me... it is an endless cycle. I just sneak in my own supplementary materials and hope I don't get caught. I would say that you should do what feels right for the class and trust your instinct about the quality of the textbook.

[expatben]

I say if it feels right do it. If you're looking through that you need to do in the text book and see an oppertunity for something else like your own worksheet or something go for it. As long as you cover whats in the text book.