Teach English in Shawo Zhen - Heze Shi

Katrina Trask It is said that textbooks are either embraced or feared by a teacher. Attitudes aside, a textbook is often used as core material for the classroom in carrying out the syllabus. After the selection or assignment of a textbook, the teacher’s next task is to figure out how to effectively use it. The common uses of the text include omission, replacement, adaptation and supplementation, with the latter two being the most effective. The first way a teacher can use the textbook is through omission, that is, either through cutting out a whole activity, lesson, or parts of it. Omission is mainly used to exclude irrelevant material that is inappropriate in light of the student’s ages, interests, cultural backgrounds and their previous knowledge (McGrath 59, 62-63). An example of omission is the exclusion of reading material in the textbook that students do not like or find irrelevant (Epstein and Ormiston 38.) However, there are a few drawbacks for omitting material from the textbook, one of which is the student’s questioning of the teacher’s selection of the text and its value in their learning. Other drawbacks are the loss of unity within or between lessons as well as the loss of the coverage of important language points (McGrath 62-63). One solution that is offered by McGrath is to create links between the parts of the material that are going to be used. A second solution is for the teacher to suggest independent study of omitted materials outside of class (63). The last solution that McGrath offers is to include the omitted language points in future activities where appropriate (63). Even though there are solutions to these drawbacks, they also have their own problems due to the fact that they require more work and time by the teacher in lesson planning as well as by the students outside the classroom Therefore, due to the drawbacks and the insufficiency of solutions, it can be argued that omission is an ineffective way to use the textbook. Replacement is a second use for the textbook, and consists of modifying steps or stages in a learning approach or changing the context or content (McGrath 59). One example is replacing material that is deemed inappropriate to the learner’s age, interests, cultural background, such as in the context of an American ESL classroom where a text on British person or fictional character is replaced with a text on a local sporting hero (McGrath 63). Another example of the replacement of textbook material is replacing listening and textbook exercises and activities with live or recorded radio broadcasts in order expose students to authentic language material (Epstein and Ormiston 126-127). Yet, like omission, replacement can also be seen as an ineffective use of the textbook since the replacement materials can never duplicate the same structure and purpose as material made specifically for ESL students. Thus, learning objectives can be easily forgotten in favor of using more appropriate or authentic material (McGrath 63). A third use of the textbook is adaption, which is the extension and exploitation of the existing material (McGrath 59). An example of adaption involves the teacher finding activities in other textbooks that are suitable for the learning objective of the lesson and adapting them to the course book material for a more localized or personalized approach (Epstein and Ormiston 28). There are several purposes to adapting a textbook; one important purpose is to fit the material to the interests of students, the teacher’s own abilities, the lesson constraints and the learning context. It is also used to compensate for inaccuracies, out-of-date content, lack of authenticity and variety. McGrath notes that there are two specific uses of adaption: one as a form of restricted addition, and the other to provide variety. The first use is for a response to a problem or opportunity that arises, to enhance learning through more of the same exercises or to alternate an original activity to take it in new directions in order to meet the needs, skills and objectives of the students and teachers (McGrath 64-66). McGrath notes that in the use of adaption as variety, it is motivated by the principles of localization, personalisation, individualization modernization, and simplification in order to maintain student interest and provide contextual relevance (67, 74). Thus, due to these purposes and specific uses of adaption, it can be argued that it is an effective use of the textbook since it is improving the learning experience of students without compensating learning objectives and context, or the needs, interests and skills of the students. The last use of the textbook is supplementation, which is the addition of new materials in order to offset deficits in the original materials or to close the gap between the course book and the needs of students. It can be used by the teacher to expose the students to more textual materials or for more practice of a specific language point. It can also be used to provide differentiated materials to students with different competency levels or needs, and to increase the interest of students through more variety (McGrath 80-81). There are two ways to supplement a textbook, the first is to use items from another published source and the second is for teacher to create his or her own material (McGrath 82). An example of the first method of supplementation is to add activities from other published materials to use as practice material for dialogues in the textbook (Epstein and Ormiston 21). Worksheets are an example of the second method of supplementation as they allow the teacher to focus on skill development in specific areas that are not covered by the textbook. They also allow the teacher to personalize learning to make it more relevant to student’s needs, skills and interests (Epstein and Ormiston 103). Hence, the purposes and uses of supplementation make it an effective use of the textbook since learning objectives and context as well as the needs, skills and interests of the students are being meet. In any ESL course, there are learning objectives to be met within the allotted time frame of the syllabus. There are also other considerations to be met in regards to the learning context and the students’ needs, skill level, and interests. In order to meet those considerations there needs to be an effective use of the textbook, which is through adaption and supplementation. Works Cited Epstein, Ruth and Mary Ormiston. Tools and Tips for Using ELT Materials: A Guide For Teachers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007. McGrath, Ian. Materials Evaluation and Design For Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002.