textbook choice

textbook choice | Jake Kimball | August 14th, 2002

Which textbook to choose?

Here's my situation. I'm teaching teens. Ss have been well placed into classes where mostly everyone in a somewhat similar level. Classes are small, maybe 5-12 right now. Most have been studying English for many years already (though not in a communicative class) so they can be a tough crowd to please. Ss are Asian so group work is new for them.

I've narrowed my choice to either Headway or Atlas.

Headway seems to have the better topics suited to teens, better pics, and a good Everyday English section. Claims to be integrated. Lots of reading, too.

Atlas claims to be learner-centered and uses a TBL syllabus, but it also seems to be very global oriented (read: stale, garden variety topics; as you probably know, ESL Land is the only place in the world where Michael Jackson still reigns as King of Pop). Which begs the question, why do ESL texts lag so far behind popular trends? It does have a video though for all 4 levels. Not much reading, but Ss already have outside reading books.

Has anyone taught from these two books? How did the Ss respond to the activities?

Is there another textbook that you've used with teens and found mild or even better success?

As I reread this it looks like I've already chosen Headway. I haven't. Both have their pros and cons, and I'm working with a much deeper needs analysis than I've mentioned, especially regarding institutional/marketing factors and S needs.

Please forward any suggestions you may have.

Thanks,

Jake

Reply to Jake | Francesca Michalski | August 14th, 2002

Hi Jake,

I'm a Headway fan and have been using it for years in all kinds of situations with success. I'm afraid I've never used Atlas, so no comments there. Tell us what you decide in the end,

Francesca

Jake- textbooks | Mary Lynn Hughes | August 14th, 2002

Hi Jake,

I'm not too up on books for teens, but one that I used a few years ago and found better than most was the 'Hotline' series by Tom Hutchinson (OUP). It's based on an ongoing story involving a group of young people in Britain and a foreign visitor who comes to study English. Each unit starts with an episode of the story (on tape and written in the book) and the language work comes directly from the dialogue, therefore it recycles language in an interesting and effective way. Despite being very British-based, the story was of real interest to students (I was teaching teens in Russia) and although obviously scripted, the dialogues are reasonably realistic, as are the situations, problems etc portrayed in the story (at least, I think so). Each unit also has an additional listening extract, a reading text, a 'Learning how to learn' section and a page of optional project work. The grammar approach is supposedly inductive and it's not toooo bad, there's also a 'Useful expressions' list from the story dialogue with idiomatic phrases, standard expressions, etc and Ss are invited to translate these into their L1. I didn't like the reading texts very much- mostly stereotypical EFL fare and too often used to drive home grammar points, ditto for the additional listening, and students weren't very interested in the project work. The syllabus, like most, is far too grammar-based for my liking. Despite these criticisms, it was better than anything else I've seen or tried! The strength of the book is the story and the way it's used. It also (compared to some others) doesn't patronise learners too much. There's a 'new' Hotline series out since I used it, as well as an American version and these are probably more up-to-date.

Don't know if it would be suitable for your learners, but might be worth a look.

Good luck with your search,

Mary Lynn

Re: textbook choice | Darin Bicknell | August 15th, 2002

I assume you are required to use a text?

If you are not required to then the best thing would be to find a syllabus or curriculum from which you can adapt and supplement with a variety of resources.

If you are tied to the needs of the school that requires a textbook as the sole material then I wish you luck... Is there a syllabus? I have been there and done that and don't envy your condition because teens are tough to teach, especially with textbook as the main resource. The main thing to do is keep it interesting and fresh, which it can even if your whole course is based on one book. What tends to happen is that you as a teacher might get bored of the text. I found that after using Headway for a number of 'cycles' the text became predictable and boring, I still have dreams about New American Streamline which I used in my first 2 years in Korea, unfortunately my students were far ahead of me and came to the conclusion that the text at times was boring and predictable, and that led me to realize that some variety for student is required within a course or you start losing students literally and metaphorically.

If you have more latitude and more time, then I suggest you pick any textbook, it doesn't matter which, and adapt it to suit a syllabus that you create or modify. Have a look at this resource it might give you some ideas.

I teach 14-18 year olds from various Asian countries and the one thing that is sure to put them asleep is the 'use' of one text day in day out. In fact, our program doesn't require our students or teachers to use a single text, but a variety of resources that may come from a 'core' text as well as plenty of resources created in the past two years. If you can break free of the a single textbook only scenario then a whole world opens up to the teacher. You can plan things that go beyond the text, or if you want to feel safe, you can be extrapolated from the text and do new things in the classroom. Of course it all depends on the goals you have set or the goals the students have set for the course. It might be easier to make a choice of text if we knew what the students are expected to do when they have completed the course. Rubrics anyone? If you know that then pick a book that can match those goals as closely as you can.

It took us almost a year and half to realize that many of our students were unhappy with the texts and our approach simply because the students were looking for more English for Academic Purposes. They wanted to be able to write an essay for the Singaporean "O" and "A" Level exams and Headway didn't really suit that. From that point on we had to create our own content based on their needs, and that meant trying to find a textbook to suit their needs and desires. I am still looking for that text, and it is now in the works for my colleagues and I to write our own. The best thing we did was to create and adapt curriculum from many sources to fit our needs. We are certainly moving in the right direction and have noticed some improvement in our students results in the past year.

Just some thoughts on what worked for us here. It may not even come close to your situation and needs, but I do think the textbook should match the goals of the course as closely as possible.

Good Luck,

Darin

PS Let us know what you picked and then report back on how the students took to the material. I would be very interested in that.

Re: toefl essay writing (L1) | Darin Bicknell | August 20th, 2002

Think in English - Write in English

Stress structure and format over grammar and lexical problems to start your classes. Force a time limit where they cannot reasonably expect to plan and write an essay in L1 and convert it to L2. I often give them a timed essay in the first class to give students a real sense of what it takes to write under time pressure translation is nearly impossible under such limits .

Here is what I do when I teach IELTS. The key I have found to getting students writing in English only and planning in English is to start by focusing only on the logical progression of the essays required. In the the first class do a simple demonstration take a students shoe and explain SFRE:

(S) The shoe is old, big, smelly blue and green.

(F) The = shoe is durable. It is durable because A, B and C.

(E) Due to A B and C, it is G value.

Or use the 'The man was so rich he...' as in the FDN module if you are afraid getting a really smelly shoe, I find the shoe is better because no one forgets that lesson I took the students shoe off and everyone is paying attention to the crazy teacher with the shoe.

I have found in the past two years by starting classes with this method students are less concerned with the accuracy of writing and start to understand that the logical progression for an essay is often more important since without a foundation from which to build even essays with acceptable grammar and vocabulary fail to get the 6.0 required Band score simply because the examiner is unable to follow the candidates argument. After the 2 nd or 3 rd class I see fewer electronic dictionaries as students are concentrating on using SFRE to model their writing. It gets a bit tricky when you use SFRE for descriptive and discursive essays, but you can adapt it.

Bottom line: start your course off with an emphasis on structure and how to tackle any essay through brainstorming, pre-planning, planning, then writing proofreading and re-writing. Worry about grammar and lexical problems later in the course when you have enough representative samples so that you can help them with their specific problems.

Hope that helps.

Good Luck picking your first victim.

Darin

Task 1

Introduction
a. Situation
b. Focus

Response #1
a. Evidence
b. Evidence

Response #2
a. Evidence
b. Evidence

Evaluation
a. Repeat R1 and R2
b. Concluding Statement =20

Task 2

Introduction
a. Situation
b. Focus

Response #1
a. Proof
b. Proof
c. Proof

Response #2
a. Proof
b. Proof
c. Proof

Response #3
a. Proof
b. Proof
c. Proof

Evaluation
a. Repeat R, R2, and R3
b. Concluding Statement

Textbooks & transitions | Raymond Sheehan | August 20th, 2002

Hi, Jake et al,

Having just got back from 2 months of a glorious (weather-excepted) holiday/vacation that managed to encompass single-malt tastings in the highlands and islands, Spanish classes, strange experiences in Amsterdam and Antwerp...how good to focus one's attention on the old MSc and job familiars. This more recent issue roused me out of holiday-mode: TEXTBOOKS

It must be true that every teacher who is focused on the particular needs, personalities, age, gender, and culture of a group of students will find any textbook lacking. Headway, for me, worked like a dream in its earlier days when it was clearly designed by London-based authors for students coming to study in London. Being handed the book later on in the students' own cultural environment, I felt less easy teaching it. Various editions came with huge pictures of Terry Wogan (who?), Robin Hood (who??), and articles on Pankhurst (who???) and women's emancipation that have just had no bearing on the cultural life of my students. The most wonderful thing about these textbooks is that they have driven me to supplement in order to fulfill linguistic, cultural, and skills gaps. (I have rarely come across a good Headway listening activity, based on a decent informed notion of skills). Headway has been issued, in my experience, to students who perceive its cultural contents as irrelevant to their needs. My instinct is to respect their intuition rather than to impose claptrap upon them in the name of EFL. So I will refer to our syllabus and see if I can meet our goals either by adapting the prescribed text or by coming up with a more appropriate equivalent. The reality is that each day I may use a bit of the coursebook and workbook, but I will have to come up with a lot of materials and activities to supplement the goals. Guess which activities the students respond to most?! Don't most teachers do this: make sensible compromises with the coursebook, which is often seen to enshrine the syllabus?

Raymond Sheehan
UAE

Headway wins! | Jake Kimball | August 26th, 2002

After receiving a lot of feedback (thanks everyone who responded), I then wrote up a simple survey to gauge Ss interest in 3 textbooks. Headway was the hands down winner in every class.

The #1 reason was pictures. They all commented on the colorful pics, their variety ranging from fake stills, cartoons or comic strips, post card scenery, action shots, B&W, city scenes, fashion models. The pics made the textbook more interesting. The others received bad marks for lame, cartoon-ish drawings without variety.

Topics of interest came in at a distant #2.