Job Discussion Forums

[JN]

Can a textbook be key in how well a teacher teaches a class?

I've had textbooks I have had a hard time working with and ones I haven't. To me, it seems that the textbooks I haven't had a hard time teaching with, are the classes that go the best for me.

[Shroob]

[teacheratlarge]

Do you have any classes where you don't use
a textbook?

I am going to assume the textbook was assigned rather than one you chose, yes? In any case, I often supplement, so even in classes with a textbook, it only features for perhaps 40 percent of the class. A few classes I have, supplementary material is 100 percent of the class.

But to answer your question, if the book is an assigned one (by admin or management), it might be difficult to work with if I must include all the activities in the said text ( I often skip, alter or shorten many activities in the text) and the textbook is poorly written.

[sparks]

For me, textbooks only detract from the class. I have some classes where I have to pretty much "cover" a certain amount pages per class. They are the worst classes. On one page of any given text you could find, for example, a grammar point, some vocab about space travel, a listening about what some people think about outer space etc. It gets to be ridiculous. I know it may be possible to transition smoothly between all of this but I find it much easier to choose a topic, vocab, grammar etc. and do it myself than try to "get through" the text.

[JN]

Sorry it took such a while to get back to this thread.

Anyway, the course book was given to me to use. It was already ordered for the students, so I had to use it. I was also told to try to get through it in a timely manner. I only managed half. There was so much material that I tried to figure out what I could cut.

I also was told to make sure the students enjoyed the class. I guess it was kind of like a tug-or-war with trying to do what I was told and trying to help the students. In the end I don't think I accomplished either. I certainly did learn from that experience.

Right now I don't have any classes where I am not using a textbook. This will likely happen in the future.

[doomer]

I suggest developing the ability to teach without a dedicated EL coursebook. I haven't used any in years, and I love it.

They're usually not written for the students & market you're teaching in, and are quite boring for most students (and teachers). Obviously, it's possible to teach with a coursebook in a very minimalist fashion, but I still prefer not having any; it will still limit you to a certain "course".

Theoretically, if I found myself looking for a coursebook to lean on (say, for business English), it means I'm ill-equipped to teach that type of student or subject. So I don't. I use my own materials, but I also keep those to a bare minimum, and prefer not to use them unless absolutely necessary.

[JN]

I still think that there are course books that can fit students and teacher. I'm using one that works for me and my students. I still feel I need a course book to lean on in most cases, but maybe that makes me ill-equipped to teach.

So, doomer, if you also keep your materials to a bare minimum, what do you teach with? Do the students bring their own materials or do you do a lot of board work and students write things down, if necessary?