Job Discussion Forums

[nomadder]

What are your best and worst picks for textbooks? I'll be lazy and say mine are on the Japan forum-Favorite and Not So Favorite Textbooks. I wonder how many textbooks are international. I often see job ads saying they use Headway which I'm not familiar with but it seems to be everywhere. Most people seem to be against Interchange.

[BethMac]

Worst: Gogo loves English

Best: Quest series (R/W and L/S)

[latefordinner]

I'm in China, so perhaps I should start a parallel thread in the China off-topic forum. The school I'm at this year uses one of the weakest texts imaginable (perhaps that only shows the limits of my imagination; this is China, after all), and although there are decent and even good texts out there, I am tempted to write my own to replace what we're using now. Part of the problem is that I have about half the teaching hours that I had at my last sausage factory, er, language school, and we all know what happens with idle hands. The other part of the situation is that the Chinese teachers that I work with are not being used to their best potential. Last week they were sent out to deliver hand-bills advertising the school. Well if that's what you want to do, the labour is already paid for; but is that the best use you can make of language teachers?
Given the use of a half dozen teachers I could produce a better text than we are using now. Moreover the experience of critically examining the content of each lesson, the discipline of outlining and then following a structure would make some already good but directionless teachers even stronger. Well maybe it wouldn't work for me, but it would work for them and you can't win them all. I know that I'm dreaming in technicolour, but that's the dream.
As for my favourites, I'm not sure. I spent a lot of time with Oxford English last year, and for given age groups it does have certain strengths. If you have access to a photocopier with enlargement capability, you can make some dandy flashcards from it. (When you draw as badly as I do, any quick and dirty source of flashcards is good) I don't want to identify what I think is a weak curriculum because it might identify me too easily, and I've probably already said too much here.
There is however one more thing. The text isn't the lesson, it's a tool to be used to construct the lesson. I'm accustomed to deleting and substituting material as I see fit, and I tend to see things as resources, rather than as fixed landmarks for either good or ill. No text is perfect, any text will have some weaknesses that an astute teacher will either teach around or make use of, as judgement demands. Which forces me to re-examine my assessments; is the text so bad that it has to be re-written, or can I muddle through with it? As my father once told me, "Is good workman is taking good care of he's tools; is bad workman is blaming he's tools". Hmmph, English was his fourth language, what do you expect? Anyway I' drifting off-topic, but the thread is young yet and may well recover. Sorry if this muddies things.

[dmb]

Classes will never be homogenous so as teachers we have to use and adapt textbooks to suit our students needs. I currently use Headway with Arab students. Liz and John's love of alcohol references is wasted here.

[nomadder]

Is Headway good or just readily available? It's the one I see most in job ads. I too think there are a lot of bad texts out there. Want to write a few myself. What's wrong with these text writers? Too many degrees?

[been_there]

*&$^#&^!@)*#&@!) *beeping* text has followed me all around the world. I have much respect for the British English teaching establishment, but if I see that (euphamism) Headway ONE MORE TIME I'm going to body-slam it and twist John and Liz's heads 720 degrees....

(smokes cigarette, has a glass of milk)

Ok, my calm, reasoned opinion: Headway is for ESL students. It has been sold by unscrupulous publishers for the EFL market to school directors who don't know the difference between ESL and EFL. All the references to holidays in Dover and the Underground seem to me to indicate that it is NOT for students learning English outside England.

[leeroy]

Headway sucks. I like Inside Out and Cutting Edge, much like democracy they seem like the least bad of a load of bad ideas...

[been_there]

The "Let's Go" series is good for kids. I like the "Side by Side" series. Both must be supplemented, but so must life.....

[kaw]

Ok so here's my list of good and bad books (in no particular order)
Cutting Edge
Inside Out
Headway depends on where you're using it
Reward but good resource pack
Lifelines (anyone else used it??)
New Interchange can't honestly think of anything good to say about it
Most franchise organisations attempts at producing a text book - some have tried - others - well - here's an example gained from a certain organisations textbook when I first started out 4 years ago. This was in what I think was at Intermediate level in a section titled "FOR ADULTS ONLY" (the mind boggles....) "He kissed her gently on the brow".
Funny how I have always remembered that - oh and that I didn't know anything about Tiger Woods until I had taught 'Lifelines' (Elementary - I think).

[Roger]

In China, most textbooks are hopeless, in particular:
- the bestselling series YOUNG LEARNER'S CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH

I hate all textbooks that come with cassettes(but that's my personal pet peeve - some say cassettes are needed).

Personally, I would simply favour a RESOURCES BOOK that gives the teacher some focus, topic and general outlines of how to achieve targets.

Depending on your objectives, you might (or not) concur with me that
- NEW CONCEPT ENGLISH (however old this series now is!) is still
an effective and instrumental basis to teaching English in a holistic way.
- FAMILY ALBUM USA (with VCD) is a useful and attractive means to
enhance the students' grasp of English through the medium of a VCD
and to help them see the USA in a more realistic manner.

[willy]

All text book stink� you must find a way that suites your students tests. not one book suits all