Job Discussion Forums

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

I've come to the conclusion that students actually LIKE coursebooks, and therefore all the fantastic ideas we may come up with to make a difference don't count for much.

In my case, using Market Leader, and following the teachers book suggestions for structure, that's when I seem to get the best feedback. That's not to say that the material can't be complemented with other relevant articles, videos, etc, but following a text does seem to do the trick.

I put this down to the method of learning people in Mexico are used to in school and wish to continue learning this way post-school.

The upside is that this makes the teachers job pretty easy regarding giving the client what he/she wants, despite our delusions of being original and creative.

What say you?

MotherF · Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 5:15 pm Post subject:

I agree with you.

In addition to the reasons you mentioned, the coursebook gives the students something physical to hang on to. And they like that. We've also found that our students (who study for the Cambridge PET exam) like coursebooks with PET on the cover! Razz

BadBeagleBad · Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 11:13 pm Post subject:

As textbooks go, Market Leader is not a bad choice. My students also just won�t hear of having a class without a book, aside from an occasional conversation day. I have found two other books that complement MF well, E-Mail English and Telephone English. They both have two page lessons, so they are easy to insert here and there, and my students like them and find them useful. I don�t think there is any one way to learn. Having studied some of the various methods out there, I think some work better for some people and some work better for others. But it�s hard to go against something that is so ingrained in a culture, especially with students that are a little older. I do sneak some conversation into most classes but planning the lesson so that it ends 10 or 15 minutes early, and then saying, oh, we have 10 minutes left, lets just have some conversation to make good use of the time. They seem to like that, but I don�t think they would go for a 2 hour class of just conversation. Having said that, I think past a certain level that is exactly what students need. There is a school here in Mexico Center that is called the XXX Speaking Center, and apparently that is all they do in the classes. I am not sure how easy it would be to learn a language from scratch that way, but I think it would be a great complement for Intermediate and up students to their classes.

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

Isla Guapa · Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 2:52 am Post subject:

Enchilada Potosina · Joined: 03 Aug 2010 Posts: 344 Location: Mexico

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

BadBeagleBad · Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 5:53 pm Post subject:

BadBeagleBad · Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 6:02 pm Post subject: Re: Coursebooks (Again!)

Dragonlady · Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 1:04 am Post subject:

Enchilada Potosina · Joined: 03 Aug 2010 Posts: 344 Location: Mexico

Been looking for an excuse to try World English - learn English and some much needed general culture! It has a dangerously high amount of reading (and thinking) in it for a Mexican audience though.

Other coursebooks I can tolerate:

Inside Out - love it.

Cutting Edge (Int, Upper Int and Advanced only)

Open Mind looks good though I've never used it.

MotherF · Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 3:02 pm Post subject:

I think Touchstone is a great book--but I've only every used levels one and two, much too low for students who will be sitting the FCE. I've never looked at the upper level books.
Both touchstone and interchange seem too "adult" for high school for me--I think it would bore the kids.

Have you looked at Tune In, by Richmond? http://www.richmondelt.com/international/catalogue/upper_secondary/tune_in.htm

Richmond also has some CLIL for high schools.

BadBeagleBad · Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 4:02 pm Post subject:

I have only recently used Inside Out, which I think is the best of the lot. I think Interchange is more geared towards adults, as someone already pointed out, and I have not had good feedback from the majority of students I have used it with (not by choice). Cutting Edge is better, but I think it is also geared towards slightly older students.