Revisiting Primary English Teachers’ Critical Reflections on Coursebook Usage

Senem Sahin

Abstract


Abstract

This study of 30 primary teachers of English in Germany used questionnaires to explore their critical reflections on coursebook usage in classrooms. The research questions were: What are primary school teachers’ perceptions of English language teaching materials? What materials are used by primary school English language teachers? What are their reasons for using certain materials? What characteristics define good language teaching materials for primary school English teachers? The participants mostly prefer implementing their own self-designed materials in combination with coursebooks. Given that preparing personal primary school teaching materials is quite time-consuming, the teachers’ arguments for their choice should be explored further to optimize English language teaching. Some argued that self-designed materials are more adjustable to the needs of their students and more authentic. The paper proposes some strategies for striking a balance between teaching English with and without a coursebook, such as making coursebook learning activities more interactive and raising awareness of effective coursebook selection. Different stakeholders can thus collect useful ideas for improvement, including teacher trainers, teachers, student teachers, school administrators, and publishers. 


Keywords


teaching English; course book selection; primary school

Full Text:

PDF

References


Allwright, R. L. (1990). What Do We Want Teaching Materials For? In R.Rossner and R. Balitho (Eds.), Currents of Change in English Language Teaching (pp. 131-147). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Almarza, G.G. (1996). Student foreign language teacher’s knowledge growth. In D. Freeman & J.C. Richards (Eds.), Teacher learning in language teaching (pp. 50-78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Azaza, M. B. M. (2012). Developing and evaluating learner training materials. In H. Emery and F. Gardiner-Hyland (Eds.), Contextualising EFP for Young Learners: International Perspectives on Policy, Practice and Procedure (pp. 179-193). Dubai: TESOL Arabia.

Bailey, K.M. et al. (1996). The language teacher’s autobiography: Examining the “apprenticeship of observation.” In D. Freeman &J.c. Richards (Eds.), Teacher Learning in Language Teaching (pp. 11-29). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bauer, K. (2014). Textbooks and Teaching and Learning Materials. A Case Study from the Early Childhood Classroom, IARTEMe-Journal 3 (2), 81–96. Retrieved from http:// biriwa.com/iartem/ejournal/volume3.2/papers/Bauer__paper_IARTEMEJournal %20_Vol3No2.pdf [Accessed 01.03.2020].

Brewster, J., Ellis, G. & Girard, D. (2002). The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Canagarajah, A. S. (1999). Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sahin, S. (2020). Developing a Checklist for English Language Teaching Coursebook Analysis, International Journal of Education and Research, 8(1), 107-120.

Criblez, L., Nägeli, A. & Stebler, R. (2010). Schlussbericht. Begleitung der Einführung des Englischlehrmittels Voices auf der Sekundarstufe I. Zürich: Universität Zürich.

Freeman, D. (2002). The hidden side of the work: Teacher knowledge and learning to teach, Language Teaching, 35, 1-13.

Fuchs, E., Kahlert, J. & Sandfuchs, U. (eds.) (2010). Schulbuch konkret. Kontexte – Produktion – Unterricht. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt.

Golombek, P.R. (1998). A study of language teachers’ personal practical knowledge. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 447-464.

Halliwell, S. (1992). Teaching English in the Primary Classroom. New York: Longman.

Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman.

Harwood, N. (2005) (Ed.). English Language Teaching Materials. Stuttgart: Klett.

Heckt, D. H. (2005). Arbeitsblätter von allen Seiten. Grundschule, 37 (12), 6–8.

Herbst, M. (2005). Ein Hoch auf das Arbeitsblatt. Grundschule 37 (12), 15.

Hutchinson, T. & Torres, E. (1994). The textbook as agent of change. ELT Journal, 48(4), 315-327.

Jordan, G. & Gray, H. (2019). We need to talk about coursebooks. ELT Journal, 73(4), 438-446.

Jordan, G. (2016). The lose-lose folly of coursebook consumption. [Blog] CriticElt. Retrieved from: https://criticalelt.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/the-lose-lose-folly-of coursebook-consumption/ [Accessed 04.03.2020].

KM Bayern - Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Bildung und Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst (2016). Kriterien zur Begutachtung von Lernmitteln. Retrieved from: https://www.km.bayern.de/lehrer/unterricht-und-schulleben/lernmittel.html [Accessed 04.03.2020].

Krenicky, K. (2004). Evaluation eines Lehrwerks für den Fremdsprachenunterricht Englisch in der Grundschule. München: Grin Verlag.

Legutke, M. K., Müller-Hartmann, A. & Schocker-von-Ditfurth, M. (2009). Teaching English in the Primary School. Stuttgart: Klett Lerntraining.

Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lutzker, P. (2016). Fremdsprachen ohne Lehrbuch. In J. Kiersch; E. Dahl and P. Lutzke (eds.), Fremdsprachen in der Waldorfschule (pp. 361-373). Stuttgart, Verlag Freies Geistesleben.

Michler, C. (2005). Vier neuere Lehrwerke für den Französischunterricht auf dem Gymnasium. Eine kritische Fallstudie mit Empfehlungen für zukünftige Lehrwerke. Augsburg: Wißner.

Mukundan, J. (2007). Evaluation of English Language Textbooks: Some Important Issues for Consideration, Journal of NELTA, 12 (1&2), 80-84.

Noriah, I. (2011). Teaching languages online. English Language Teaching Journal, 65(2), 215-217.

Numrich, C. (1996). On becoming a language teacher: Insights from diary studies. TESOL Quarterly, 30, 131-153.

O’Neill, R. (1982). Why use textbooks? ELT Journal, 36(2), 104-111.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, (2000). OUP: Oxford.

Peacock, A. & Cleghorn, A. (Eds.) (2004). Missing the Meaning. The Development and Use of Print and Nonprint Text Materials in Diverse School Settings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Peschel, F. (2005). Das beste Arbeitsblatt … macht sich überflüssig. Von der Arbeitsblattdidaktik zur Eigenproduktion. Grundschule, 37(12), 9-13.

Podromou, L. (2002). The great ELT textbook debate. MET, 11(4), 25-33.

Richards, J. C. (1996). Teachers’ Maxims in Language Teaching. Tesol Quartely, 30(2), 281-296.

Sandfuchs, U. (2010). Schulbücher und Unterrichtsqualität – historische und aktuelle Refexionen. In E. Fuchs, J. Kahlert & U. Sandfuchs (eds.), Schulbuch konkret. Kontexte Produktion Unterricht (pp. 25-40). Bad Heilbrunn: Verlag Ju-lius Klinkhardt.

Sheldon, L. E. (1988). Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials. ELT Journal, 42(4), 237-246.

Stranks, J. (2012). The construction of English: culture, consumerism and promotion in the ELT global coursebook. ELT Journal, 66(1), 125-127.

Swan, M. (1992). The textbook: bridge or wall? Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching, 2 (1), 32-35.

Thornbury, S. (2009). Slow-release grammar. English Teaching Professional, 61(3), 4-9.

Thornbury, S. (2005). Awareness, Appropriation and Autonomy. English Teaching Professional, 40(9), 11-13.

Tomlinson, B. (2003). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum.

Tomlinson, B. (1998). Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.33258/birle.v3i2.895

Article Metrics

Abstract view : 816 times
PDF - 98 times

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License