It’s been an interesting transition from the world of English Language Teaching into working for an ELT publisher. My job sees me still working with teachers on a regular basis, and talking, thinking and writing about teaching, but I’m well aware that there are some things I perhaps see differently now.
I’ve taught in private language schools, summer schools, a state school, and online, but I’d never stopped to consider the overall breadth of English Language Teaching. How there are so many different contexts in which English is taught, who it’s taught by and who it’s taught to, and all the different goals and needs and requirements within that. In my current role I get something of an overview of ELT in a way I never have before, and it’s been a learning curve! So here’s just a fraction of what I’ve learned.
1. We’ve moved on!
This is a personal one, and may not be representative of the experience of people who’ve taken a TEFL qualification more recently. I trained to teach in a super low-tech environment – I took my Trinity CertTESOL in a church hall, with laminated magazine picture flashcards and a cassette recorder. My first teaching job was also relatively low tech – CD players were about the height of modern technology, we had one computer (in the staffroom), a lot of photocopies, and the idea of a classroom having an interactive whiteboard or a projector was something of a far-flung dream. Over the last couple of years the world has become more and more reliant on technology to do everything (not just teach!) but it’s been a real revelation to me just how much is out there. It’s still dependent on the context you’re working in, but teachers now have so much technology at their disposal: IWB software, learning management systems, and apps. At IATEFL last week a fellow publisher was demonstrating their AR software. Who knows, maybe that will be the future of language learning. I firmly believe that technology will never replace a good teacher. But still, it’s pretty cool!
2. Tried and tested (and checked)
I think pretty much everyone has a story about a coursebook (or other book!) that they’ve found which had typos in it, or incorrect answers, or an activity that simply didn’t work or make sense. But as a general rule I’ve realised what coursebooks have in their favour (as opposed to materials that have been made by a school/a random teacher on the internet) is the sheer amount of eyes on them before they become published materials. It’s a bit like watching the film credits; I’d never really appreciated the amount of work (and the amount of people!) that go into that coursebook in front of you. You’re not only drawing on the experience of the authors, but also of the Editorial team, and countless other internal stakeholders, who all have a good level of English, an eye for detail and who potentially all have teaching experience themselves. Of course, this is no guarantee that everything will be perfect, or that nothing will have slipped through the cracks. But it does give you a better chance that the materials you’re using will actually be good quality.
3. Rules, Regulations and Parsnips
As a teacher, I’d never really thought too much about what was, or wasn’t, included in coursebooks. I do remember, however, a conversation with a colleague about some coursebooks we had in the staffroom which he referred to rather dismissively as being ‘for a middle Eastern market’. The reason for this assertion? The lack of dogs, pork products, and alcohol. In the same setting, I taught a group of middle Eastern students using a coursebook that didn’t have this affliction – and to be honest I remember feeling a bit embarrassed by how heavily some of the content seemed to revolve around alcohol. Now that I’m more experienced I think I’d probably try to handle it differently, but at the time we simply struggled through conversations based on ‘Do you like wine?’ and ‘Would you like a beer?’, which frankly seemed inappropriate and didn’t acknowledge my students’ culture.
I think it’s more standard now for coursebooks to be created for a ‘global’ audience. Although there will still be custom versions created for particular markets, the majority of international publishers will aim to ‘play it safe’ and avoid certain topics, commonly known as PARSNIPS (Politics, Alcohol, Religion, Sex, Narcotics, “isms” [eg communism, atheism…] and Pork). There are plenty of arguments both for and against this (I recommend reading Scott Thornbury’s blog post on the topic and the accompanying comments), but whatever side of the argument you subscribe to it’s been interesting to learn more about it.
4. There is no one size fits all
On a related note, there is no one size fits all. There are so many different approaches to English Language Teaching, and I do think working in publishing has given me a better sense of that. Teachers in some regions still love a grammar chart, while others prioritise a more communicative approach. I think globally we’re moving away from ELT focusing on British and American culture, but there are still some countries/schools/teachers who want their syllabus to include information about ‘festivals and holidays’ like Halloween and Christmas. Others want to teach students about their home country and culture through the medium of English. Teachers have different levels of training, and experience, they have different amounts of time available to spend planning lessons – and there are different expectations of what they will and will not do. Although there are overall trends, the ‘right’ way of doing things does very much depend on where you’re teaching. It’s pretty fascinating!
5. The coursebook isn’t everything
This is more of a reminder, really, as adapting, omitting and supplementing was definitely something I did as a teacher. Since working for a publisher I’ve realised increasingly how impossible it is to meet everyone’s needs perfectly – and therefore how important it is for the teacher to know their students and contribute to this too. If you need your coursebook to include something that is missing, by all means suggest it to the publisher (see also point 4, as it’s possible it’s not there for a good reason). But also create your own materials, adapt the coursebook, and supplement it. If the book doesn’t work for your students, make something that will.
I do believe coursebooks are a great tool – they save the teacher time and effort, contain a wealth of ideas, and give you access to content that you wouldn’t be able to create yourself. But at the end of the day a coursebook is just that; a book. It’s what you do with it that counts!
The Best Ticher 