The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Coursebook

Introduction
The coursbook dilemma has long provided subject for debate in ELT, no less so today with the plethora
of interactive web-tools available to trainers and the emergence of self-published materials, not to
mention the current interest in the dogme approach. This paper seeks to outline the advantages and
disadvantages of using a coursebook, with particular focus on English for Specific Purposes (ESP), before
going on to consider a possible model for future language learning delivery.

Literature review
In the 90’s Hutchinson and Torres (1994) suggested that ‘Coursebooks survive … primarily because they
are the most convenient means of providing the structure the teaching-learning system … requires.’ while
Bell and Gower (1998) commented that ‘the language presented in many coursebooks bears little
relationship to real language use and more to coursebook convention.’ During this period there was
much criticism of the lack of authenticity in coursebooks, in particular the use of over-simplified texts
‘specially contrived for language teaching purposes’ MacWilliam (1986). Wajnryb (1996) went so far as to
imply that through the sanitised and ‘PG-rated’ world promoted in coursebooks trainers were actually
‘de-socialising’ their learners. More recently Tomlinson (2010) argued that textbooks were ‘designed
primarily to satisfy administrators and teachers but in doing so often ignore the needs and wants of
learners’. Conversely, in 2012 he concludes that awareness of what constitutes effective, principled
materials grounded in SLA research has ‘progressed dramatically’ as has their production. However, as
the debate continues the numbers still relying on coursebooks is worthy of note. In 2008 the British
Council found 65% of their trainers used a coursebook on a regular basis, and Tomlinson, surveying
conference attendees in Asia and the UK in 2010, noted that 92% regularly used a coursebook.

Advantages
Advocates of the coursebook cite the need for structure, predominantly in terms of language
presentation for both trainer and learner. This is even more pertinent when teaching ESP, as the content
element provides an additional burden to trainers. Teaching in-work learners may result in an ‘expert-
non expert’ collaborative approach, but, pre-experience learners often require more guidance regarding
concepts in the given field. Coursebooks produced in Europe are usually set against the Common
European Framework which is one way of responding to the requirements of the stakeholder (often
company training manager) providing course credibility and accountability as well as a certain degree of
consistency and quality control.

Coursebooks provide a time-efficient and cost-effective means of delivery for stakeholder and trainer
alike. Few ESP trainers are granted adequate time for class preparation. This, coupled with the number
of courses and the range of disciplines taught leaves little time for course design.

Most commercially produced courses include audio-visual and digital components. The variety of
medium helps to increase learner motivation. In addition, they expose learners to the visual (gesture,
facial expression, proxemics) and auditory (ellipsis, redundancy, overlapping speech) features of the
language as well as provide the necessary environmental and physical clues to help learners understand
usage and register in a particular context, thus assisting their development of effective spoken
communication.

1
Experts will have more confidence in and respect for a teacher who has a grasp of the relevant concepts’.
(Dudley Evans, 2005) Hailing traditionally from a humanities background, many trainers lack knowledge
of the financial, scientific or engineering sectors in which their learners work. It is vital therefore that the
ESP coursebook supports the trainer, not only in terms of lexis and pragmatics, but also content-wise ‘as
a basic reference on which to base the course’ (Estaban, 2002). Teachers’ guides represent an equally
important means of support in particular for ESP trainers, provided they include, according to Crawford
(2002), ‘adequate information about the materials provided, and clear and theoretically explicit
rationales for the activities proposed’.

Finally, few CELTA-trained teachers possess the necessary skills for developing principled materials based
on SLA research. Estaban (idem) goes so far as to suggest that tailoring ESP materials is a major risk for
those not expert in materials production. Fewer still, are those qualified in teaching, the specialisation
concerned and materials development. However, while far from systematic, there has recently been a
move towards a more principled approach to the design of ESP coursebooks. Many such coursebooks*
have been written in collaboration with, or at least have been reviewed by, a renowned expert from the
field.

Disadvantages
Of the major criticisms of published coursebooks, the use of inauthentic language and the inability to
respond adequately to the real needs of the learner are possibly the most pertinent, and are particularly
relevant to ESP.

Nelson (2003), comparing a corpus of spoken and written business situations, with one compiled from 33
Business English coursebooks confirmed a ‘mismatch’. Typically, he found that interactions were over-
polite, insufficiently vague and invariably comprised of adjacency pairs. Language was transactional and
functional with a high concentration of nouns over action verbs. Authentic texts, where present, simply
talked about business (interviews with CEOs) instead of ‘getting on and doing it’. However, a ‘revolution’
in published ESP materials over the last five years has resulted in the increased inclusion of authentic
texts, both written and spoken. Authentic materials and use of corpora, such as the CANBEC, can provide
meaningful exposure to language as it is actually used in the workplace. They serve to increase learners’
understanding of aspects of the language so dependent on context and thus help develop a range of
communicative competencies. In addition, authentic materials motivate learners and enhance positive
attitudes towards the learning of a language, allowing for increased personalisation. By incorporating
authentic texts, publishers are finally attempting to facilitate the learner’s transition into the
professional environment as opposed to ‘making it up as they go along’ (Nelson).

Ultimately, professionals need to gain maximum exposure not only to texts that are authentic to them,
but also to tasks that are for the most part representative of those they are required to carry out in
English around such texts; therefore achieving an outcome as opposed simply to linguistic accuracy. The
ESP ‘revolution’ has resulted in some publishers producing coursebooks that seek to replicate real-world
tasks and methodology from the field*. In doing so, these coursebooks not only more closely reflect the
working environment of the target audience, but also provide greater opportunities for learners to draw
on their own (professional) experience. Learners are able to concentrate on language usage and both
learner and stakeholder grasp their immediate relevance and credibility.

2
The constraints of the commercial publisher will always be an issue and go some way towards explaining
the reason behind much of the criticism directed specifically at ESP coursebooks. Relatively speaking
production costs for niche-market coursebooks, coupled with poor adoption levels means that return on
investment remains modest, with publishers preferring to invest in more profitable (secondary or
general English) courses. The global nature of ESP coursebooks should not be overlooked. With particular
markets dominating areas such as medical English, publishers are required to adhere to cultural
demands regardless of the requirements of the discipline. The result is a coursebook that may not
entirely reflect the working environment of other, financially less important, markets.

Proponents of Dogme have possibly been the coursebook’s biggest critic in recent times. However, what
constitutes a materials-light approach relying almost entirely on the learner for input (Meddings &
Thornbury, 2009) would surely be difficult to apply in the ESP classroom. Frendo (2012) cites the fact
that quite often neither trainer nor learner is conversant in the discourse of the community concerned.
As such, limiting the content of the class to the treatment of emergent language might be
counterproductive; the aim rather is to ‘expose students to a target discourse community and help them
become members of that community’. Frendo also reminds us of the need to satisfy the stakeholder, by
proposing a confirmed, pedagogically-sound syllabus that aims to achieve the objectives required by the
company. Published coursebooks naturally fulfil this role.

Finally, the suggestion that the coursebook might somehow ‘deskill’ the trainer (Richards, XXX),
discouraging them from using their own initiative and curbing their creativity, could not be further from
the truth in the ESP context. ‘Materials writing is one of the most characteristic features of ESP in
practice’ Hutchinson & Waters (2008) and trainers will always be required to supplement coursebooks.
The very nature of ESP is such that finding the perfect textbook is highly unlikely.

A possible model for the future

‘The most important work in a class may start with the textbook but end outside it’ (1990) - O’Neill’s
quote remains valid today and is especially pertinent in the context of ESP. It is therefore worth
considering alternative models for the delivery of language courses. English360 is an example of a web
2.0 platform designed on the premise that no ESP course can be catered to through one coursebook and
thus provides the means for trainers to combine commercially published materials with their own to
create a highly personalized course that helps them respond more closely to the real needs of their
learners and the relevant stakeholders. The principles that drive this and similar projects aim to counter-
balance those criticisms of the coursebook mentioned earlier in this paper. ‘Truly personalized content is
radically learner-centred’ Miller (2010) While, those with no training in ESP materials design would do
well to consider the following framework adapted from the work of Crawford (2002) and Tomlinson
(1998) and conceived in response to the criticisms often made of coursebooks.

ESP materials should:

 Replicate real-world tasks & methodology from the field, where possible
 Incorporate authentic materials in a variety of forms
 Draw on the learner’s own experience
 Deal with paralinguistic & visual elements in communication
 Treat sensitive issues, where necessary

3
  Raise cultural awareness
 Provide opportunities for feedback & monitoring of progress
 Facilitate learner confidence and autonomy

Conclusion
Crawford (idem) states that while coursebooks can reduce options for learners, they also allow for
greater autonomy as students know what to expect and are therefore in a position to better take charge
of their own learning. Coursebooks need to challenge both learner and trainer, presenting ideas for tasks
and language input without undermining autonomy and becoming prescriptive. On the other hand,
O’Neill recognises that coursebooks should serve merely as ‘a jumping-off point for the teacher and the
class’ and nothing more.

*English for... series, Cambridge University Press

Good Practice, Cambridge University Press, 2008
Professional English in Use – Management, Cambridge University Press, 2011
Vocational English for Nursing, 1 & 2, Pearson, 2010, 2011

Ros Wright, Sept 2012

4
References
Bell, J. and R. Gower (1998) ‘Writing Course Materials for the World: a Great Compromise’ in Tomlinson, B (ed)
Materials Development for Language Learners, Cambridge University Press
Crawford, J. (2002) ‘The Role of Materials in the Language Classroom: Finding the Balance’ in Methodology in
Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press
Dudley-Evans, T., and St. John, M., (1998) Developments in ESP: A Multi-disciplinary Approach, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge
Esteban, A. (2002) How Useful are ESP Textbooks?, Odisea, N°2
Frendo, E. (2010) Business English, ESP and Dogme, www.englishintheworkplace.com
Hutchinson, T. and A. Waters (2008) English for Specific Purposes, Cambridge University Press
Hutchinson, T and E. Torres (1994) ‘The Textbook as an Agent of Change’, ELT Journal, 48.4, Oxford University Press
MacWilliams, I. (1986) “Video and Language Comprehension” in ELT Journal Vol. 40/2, Oxford University Press
Meddings, L. S. Thornbury (2009) Teaching Unplugged, Delta Publishing
Miller, C. (2010) ‘The New Web and the Future of ELT materials design’, Teaching Times, TESOL France
Nelson, M. (2000) A Corpus-Based Study of Business English and Business English Teaching Materials. Unpublished
Ph D Thesis: Manchester University: cited in Handford, M and McCarthy, M. (2003) Invisible To Us: A Preliminary
Corpus-Based Study of Spoken English, Visiting lecture to Leeds Metropolitan University
O’Neill, R. (1990) ‘Why Use Textbooks’ in Currents of Change in English Language Teaching, ed. Rossner and
Bolitho, OUP
Richards, J.C. (XXX) The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program
Tomlinson, B. (2012) Materials Development for Language Learning and Teaching, Journal of the English Language,
45.2, Cambridge Journals
Tomlinson, B. (1998) Materials development in language teaching, (ed.) Cambridge University Press
Wajnryb, R. (1996). Death, taxes and jeopardy: Systematic omissions in EFL texts, or life was never meant to be an
adjacency pair, 9th Educational Conference, Sydney