TKT Unit 23:

Selection and use of

coursebook materials
By
Porntip
Bodeepongse
 How to select and use
coursebook materials
• Coursebook materials are all the
materials in a coursebook
package that we use in the
classroom to present and
practise language, and to
develop learners’ language skills.
 A coursebook package
usually includes:
• A student’s book • Audio and video
• A teacher’s book recordings
– Tapescript (the • A workbook or
words learners activity book (a
hear) book with extra
– Lesson plans practice material)
– Extra or • CD-ROM or extra
suggested materials on the
activities
web
• Teachers often base their
selection of teaching materials
(coursebook or supplementary)
on a needs analysis’, i.e. a
study of learners’ level,
language needs and interests,
using questionnaires, interviews
or diagnostic tests.
• The information from the
needs analysis helps to build
up a class profile (a
description of all the learners
in the class) and shows what
they have in common and how
they differ from each other.
So, the teacher’s task is……

• to select the coursebook

or any teaching materials
that best matches the
class profile
What questions should
we ask when selecting
teaching materials?
• Is the material visually attractive?
– Is it visually clear (e.g. using
different colours, different fonts,
headings, etc.?
– Does the visual material help learners
to understand context and meaning?
• Is it well organised?
– Can you and your learners follow the
logic of the materials and find your
way around the page or the unit
quickly and easily?
• Is it culturally appropriate?
– Will the context(s) be familiar to
learners? culturally biased?
– Is there a mixture of different
cultures presented in the coursebook?

• Is it suitable for your learners’ age

and their needs and interests?
• Will the topics be motivating to suit
the age, gender, experience and
personal interests of your learners?

• Is it at the right level?

• Does it provide a clear enough context
and/or explanations for learners to
understand new language?
• Does it give learners enough
opportunities to use the language?
 If the answer to any of
these questions is ‘No’
• Replace the coursebook material
with materials with the same
focus/ aim from another book or
resource (website or
supplementary materials)
• Adapt the coursebook material,
i.e. change it in some way to make
it suitable for our learners.
Ways to adapt materials:
• Shortening material
• Extending material
• Reordering material
• Changing the form of the task
• Making use of all the resources
in the book
 Key concepts
• There may be good reasons for
leaving out part of a unit, or
even a whole unit, but
remember that a coursebook is
one of the main sources of Ss’
learning and revision. So they
may find it confusing if we do
this too often.
 The coursebook

the main content for a lesson

whereas
material that needs to be more
personalised for the learners

the teacher/learners themselves

 Therefore, …
• When planning lessons,
teachers should think about
what the coursebook gives
you and what you need to
add.
 Coursebook provides: Ts can add:
• situation / context • warmer
• pictures • instructions
• dialogues (conversation • role-play
between 2 people) and
texts
• tasks and exercises • homework
tasks
• If we plan to reorder the
material in the coursebook,
we must make sure that this
is possible, i.e. that a task/
exercise does not depend on
a previous one.
• We can change the order of
activities in the coursebook
in order to introduce variety
in one of the following
areas: pace, interaction
pattern, sequence of skills
practice, level of difficulty,
content, mood, etc.
• We should think about how
to make material more
attractive and interesting
for learners and how to
bring material ‘off the page’,
e.g. using mime, pictures,
realia (real objects), etc.