English teachers club – Using a coursebook

Talk about your experience What coursebooks are you currently using? How good are they? Who chose the coursebook you are using now? Do you use any extra materials to supplement your coursebook? Do you have any technology apart from the computer in your class? How difficult is it to provide extra materials for your class (to make copies etc)?

So, coursebooks are not ideal… … and only you as a teacher know what your learners need and what’s going to work with your learners. What you can do is avoid + supplement + adapt + exploit your coursebook.

Supplement - with activities from Resource Packs for published coursebooks (ideal for grammar/vocabulary) – e.g. English File Teacher’s Book/ Cutting Edge Teacher’s Book/ Reward Resource Pack etc > bring your memory stick! -with activities from Coursebooks you like (esp. listening! – look for similar topics and appropriate level) - with authentic video (youtube.com channels such as Ed Ted/Asap Science/ Buzzfeed etc)

Adapt + Exploit - to do that build a repertoire of generic activities to use with any material. Reading : do more with the language. When done reading, ask learners to look for words about sport/describe weather/past forms/etc. Do paragraph summaries and then overall one for the whole text. Write questions for each other. Write questions on the topic to be answered in the text. Teach collocations and use them for questions. Small kids can colour in words you dictate.

Adapt + Exploit - to do that build a repertoire of generic activities to use with any material. Speaking : do more with picture (describe, role-play etc). Dialogues are great for “Look up and say” activity. Make “Mingle” activities for your topic/grammar point and use them. Same with “Find someone who…”.

Adapt + Exploit - to do that build a repertoire of generic activities to use with any material. Grammar : try different interaction patterns when doing exercises from the book – individually + in pairs/in small groups/ individually + whole class/ etc. Change sentences to make them true for yourself. Make questions with the grammar point and ask each other.

Adapt + Exploit - to do that build a repertoire of generic activities to use with any material. Vocabulary tasks : help your learners really remember the vocabulary – make a Class Word Box and use it a little in every lesson. For kids – make a Memory set for a vocabulary set you’re teaching. Try out “Train compartment” – prepare several cards with new vocabulary – in groups learners have a conversation for 3-4 minutes trying to use up all their cards.

Adapt + Exploit - to do that build a repertoire of generic activities to use with any material. Listening tasks : set your own tasks, listen twice or more. Ask learners to repeat the last phrase. Work with scripts. Use audio from English coursebooks.

Adapt + Exploit Where to get ideas for adpating, exploiting or supplementing your coursebook? 1 Look at good English coursebooks at appropriate level/group you can do it online, downloading pdf books or buy/look through a book in a shop (check out Bookbridge, they have “sales” section) 2 Check out websites and blogs for teachers – Check out methodology books – “How to teach…”/ OUP/ Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers…

Try yourself!

Thank you for coming!