Is using a coursebook necessary?

Though a textbook has always been considered a sign of ‘proper and serious learning’, we sometimes tend to adapt, supplement and tailor-made it. Or even reject. Which way of teaching and learning is more productive: with or without a single book? Today’s article will not provide you with an answer – only you know better what works for your students. However, we’ll have a brief overview of the main fors and againsts of both textbook-based and textbook-free approaches.

Textbook-based approach

Teaching with a coursebook is considered to be more common. Dozens of publishing houses keep making our life better by publishing bright, up-to-date and structured textbooks to cater for all tastes. The benefits of using them are obvious. Spoiler: but only if you buy one which is trustworthy, tried and tested, and made by a person and a publishing house which are known.

Time-saving

What is best about basing your lessons on one main textbook is that it saves you lots of time. Ideally, the exercises are well-linked, there are lead-ins and various options for practice, ideas for fast finishers, additional materials, tests and all the necessary resources. You don’t need to create anything from scratch, just adapt something if necessary.

Methodologically supportive

Most of the textbooks go with a teacher’s book. It is extremely useful for novice teachers as it gives an idea of what a lesson should look like. All the main stages like ‘presentation, practice, production’ are explained and reflected in the textbook material itself. If there is a creative task or a communicative activity, they are accompanied by clear instructions, unlike those you might find on the internet or in books with various language activities. When you are just starting your teaching career, a combination of a proper textbook and a teacher’s book can give you tons of tips and tricks.

Well-balanced

An average modern coursebook will highlight all language skills and systems. You can be sure that students will spend some time dealing with grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing and speaking. Or course, we quite often go like ‘Oh, I think this textbook doesn’t pay much attention to listening’ or ‘There isn’t enough of grammar practice, for sure’. However, it’s way easier to find a few supplementary resources than to keep this more or less balanced system yourself, combining pages and tasks from different resources.

Memorable

Any good textbook is built in such a way that most words and topics come up again and again. It facilitates spaced repetition and helps students memorize the information better. Unit and progress tests are also designed to provide students with an opportunity to revise the material and work on some challenging issues again. 

Legal

Recently, the Russian ELT world has been stirred and shaken by numerous talks about piracy. Let’s face it, we are much more likely to buy official books if we need just a couple of them. Every time we need a bit of this and a page of that, we might end up downloading pirate copies chaotically or using some lower-quality materials. Of course, book prices leave much to be desired, but we can still try not to spread ourselves too thin in terms of materials. 

Textbook-free approach

Sometimes, though, you can notice students getting annoyed with a textbook or even coming with a demand to have ‘textbook-free’ classes. The first thought might be that they don’t want to buy a book and would prefer to save some money. But sometimes it’s deeper than that.

High levels

Students of high levels often feel restricted by textbooks. They might know most of a book’s vocabulary or treat repetitive grammar tasks with some poorly hidden disgust. If a learner is aiming at high levels, they normally need the language for something specific, be it their job or hobby. It means that no coursebook will be enough. In such cases, the textbook-free approach might work for a particular group or person. It can be a discussion club format with talking about the videos, reading articles and expanding vocabulary. Alternatively, it can be a course created with your students in mind which will base fully on their needs and interests.

Narrow focus

Sometimes we have to work with those who don’t even need a course. Students might have certain time limits or specific interests and needs. I had a learner who was crazy about fishing and often went abroad to join his like-minded international friends. There was also an opera singer who needed English and Italian to be able to understand her teachers. In both cases (and many more) I decided not to take any textbook but to create a shorter tailor-made course. It worked pretty well, to be honest.

Lack of variety

When we climb up from one coursebook to another, it can be easy to stuck in the rut and turn learning into routine – structured and balanced, but too predictable. At times, a unit taken from another book or a couple of weeks of paper-free learning can be extremely beneficial. It will energize your students and help them get a fresh look at the whole learning process. 

All in all, ‘to teach, or not to teach’ isn’t the question. The question still is – with a book or without. I personally believe that there can’t be a single answer. It’s a good teacher who is worth a hundred of books, but, at the same time, can do real magic having just one.

Do you have a favourite textbook?