TKT Unit 23:

Selection and use of

coursebook materials
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 students book
A teachers book
Tapescript (the
words learners
hear)
Lesson plans
Extra or
suggested
activities

Audio and video
recordings
A workbook or
activity book (a
book with extra
practice material)
CD-ROM or extra
materials on the
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 teachers 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
between 2 people) and
texts
role-play
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.