The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program
Jack C. Richards
Textbooks are a key component in most language programs. In some situations
they serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and thelanguage practice that occurs in the classroom. They may provide the basis forthe content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of language
practice the students take part in. In other situations, the textbook may serve
primarily to supplement the teacher’s instruction. For learners, the textbook may
provide the major source of contact they have with the language apart from input
provided by the teacher. In the case of inexperienced teachers textbooks may
also serve as a form of teacher training – they provide ideas on how to plan andteach lessons as well as formats that teachers can use. Much of the language
teaching that occurs throughout the world today could not take place without theextensive use of commercial textbooks. Learning how to use and adapt textbooks
is hence an important part of a teacher’s professional knowledge.

Advantages and limitations of textbooks
The use of commercial textbooks in teaching has both advantages anddisadvantages, depending on how they are used and the contexts for their use.
Among the principal advantages are:
1. They provide structure and a syllabus for a program.
Without textbooks a program may have no central core and learners may notreceive a syllabus that has been systematically planned and developed.
2. They help standardize instruction.
The use of a textbook in a program can ensure that the students in different
classes receive similar content and therefore can be tested in the same way.
3. They maintain quality.
If a well developed textbook is used students are exposed to materials that havebeen tried and tested, that are based on sound learning principles, and that are
paced appropriately.
4. They provide a variety of learning resources.
Textbooks are often accompanied by workbooks, CDs and cassettes, videos, CDROMs, and comprehensive teaching guides, providing a rich and varied resource
for teachers and learners.
5. They are efficient.
They save teachers’ time, enabling teachers to devote time to teaching rather
than material’s production.

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6. They can provide effective language models and input.
Textbooks can provide support for teachers whose first language is not English
and who may not be able to generate accurate language input on their own.
7. They can train teachers.
If teachers have limited teaching experience, a textbook together with theteacher’s manual can serve as a medium of initial teacher training.
8. They are visually appealing.
Commercial textbooks usually have high standards of design and production andhence are appealing to learners and teachers.
However there are also potential negative effects. For example:
1. They may contain inauthentic language:
Textbooks sometimes present inauthentic language since texts, dialogs and otheraspects of content tend to be specially written to incorporate teaching points andare often not representative of real language use.
2. They may distort content.
Textbooks often present an idealized view of the world or fail to represent realissues. In order to make textbooks acceptable in many different contexts
controversial topics are avoided and instead an idealized white middle-class viewof the world is portrayed as the norm.
3. They may not reflect students’ needs.
Since textbooks are often written for global markets they often do not reflect theinterests and needs of students and hence may require adaptation.
4. They can deskill teachers.
If teachers use textbooks as the primary source of their teaching leaving thetextbook and teacher’s manual to make the major instructional decisions for them
the teacher’s role can become reduced to that of a technician whose primarily
function is to present materials prepared by others.
5. They are expensive
Commercial textbooks may represent a financial burden for students in many
parts of the world.
Both the benefits and limitations of the use of textbooks needs to beconsidered, and if the textbooks that are being used in a program are judged tohave some negative consequences, remedial action should be taken, e.g. byadapting or supplementing books or by providing appropriate guidance andsupport for teachers in how to use them appropriately.

Evaluating Textbooks
With such an array of commercial textbooks and other kinds of instructional
materials to choose from teachers and others responsible for choosing materials
need to be able to make informed judgments about textbooks and teachingmaterials. Evaluation however can only be done by considering something in
relation to its purpose. A book may be ideal in one situation because it matches
the needs of that situation perfectly. It has just the right amount of material forthe program, it is easy to teach, it can be used with little preparation by
inexperienced teachers, and it has an equal coverage of grammar and the fourskills. However the same book in a different situation may turn out to be quite
unsuitable. It contains too little material; it is not sufficiently challenging for2

teacher and students, and has elements in it (such as a grammar syllabus) that is
not needed in the program. Before one can evaluate a textbook, therefore,
information is needed on the following issues:
1. The role of the textbook in the program! Is there a well developed curriculum which describes the objectives, syllabus
and content of the program or will this be determined by the textbook?
! Will the book or textbook series provide the core of the program, or is it oneof several different books that will be used?
! Will it be used with small classes or large ones?
! Will learners be expected to buy a workbook as well or should the textbook
provide all the practice students need?
2. The teachers in the program! How experienced are the teachers in the program and what is their level oftraining?
! Are they native speakers of English? If not, how well do they speak English?
! Do teachers tend to follow the textbook closely or do they use the book simply
as a resource?
! Do teachers play a part in selecting the books they teach from?
! Are teachers free to adapt and supplement the book?
3.
!
!
!
!
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The learners in the program
Is each student required to buy a book?
What do learners typically expect in a textbook?
Will they use the book in class and at home?
How will they use the book in class? Is it the primary source of classroom
activities?
How much are they prepared to pay for a book?

It is also necessary to realize that no commercial textbook will ever be aperfect fit for a language program. Two factors are involved in the developmentof commercial textbooks: those representing the interests of the author, andthose representing the interests of the publisher. The author is generally
concerned to produce a text that teachers will find innovative, creative, relevantto their learners’ needs, and that they will enjoy teaching from. The author isgenerally hopeful that the book will be successful and make a financial profit sincea large investment of the author’s personal time and effort is involved. The
publisher is primarily motivated by financial success. However, in order to achieve
a profit, publishers generally recognize that a book must have qualities ofexcellence that will distinguish it from its competitors.
At the same time, the publisher will try to satisfy teachers’ expectations as
to what a textbook at a certain level should contain. For example, if an
introductory ESL textbook does not include the present continuous in the firstlevel of the book, teachers may feel that it is defective and not wish to use it. In
an attempt to make an author’s manuscript usable in as large a market as
possible, the publisher often has to change it substantially. Some of thesechanges are necessitated by the fact that teachers with very different levels ofexperience, training, and teaching skill might be using the book. Exercises shouldhave explicit goals, procedures for using activities should be obvious anduncomplicated, and teachers should not have to spend much time working out
how to use the material. In addition, content that would not be welcome inparticular markets may have to be removed. As a consequence, much of the“flavour” and creativity of the author’s original manuscript may disappear. Inusing textbooks, therefore, teachers invariably have to put back some of thecreativity that may have been lost in the process of textbook publication.

3Criteria for Textbook Evaluation
Cunningsworth (1995) proposes four criteria for evaluating textbooks, particularly
coursebooks:
1. They should correspond to learner’s needs. They should match the aims andobjectives of the language-learning program.
2. They should reflect the uses (present or future) which learners will make ofthe language. Textbooks should be chosen that will help equip students to use
language effectively for their own purposes.
3. They should take account of students’ needs as learners and should facilitate
their learning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid “method”.
4. They should have a clear role as a support for learning. Like teachers, they
mediate between the target language and the learner.
The type of evaluation a textbook receives, however, will also reflect theconcerns of the evaluator. One teacher may look at a book in terms of its
usability. The teacher is primarily interested in whether the book works easily inher class, can be used flexibly, and could easily be adapted. Another teacher may
look at a book much more critically in terms of its theoretical orientation andapproach. If it is a book that teaches conversation skills what theory ofconversation is it based on? What kind of syllabus is it based on and what is thevalidity of the activities it makes use of? Two teachers evaluating a writing text
may likewise look at it from very different perspectives. One may subscribe to aprocess-oriented view of writing and look for activities that practice suchprocesses as generating ideas, drafting, reviewing, revising, and editing. Anothermay be more concerned to see that adequate treatment is given to different
conventions for organizing different kinds of texts, such as narrative writing,expository writing, and descriptive writing. In any language program therefore it
is unlikely that a published checklist can be used without adaptation as a basis forevaluating and choosing textbooks. Based on the factors in each situationquestions specific to that situation need to be generated around the main issues
involvedin
textbook
evaluationandselection:!
!
!
!
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program factors – questions relating to concerns of the program
teacher factors – questions relating to teacher concerns
learner factors – questions relating to learner concerns
content factors – questions relating to the content and organization of thematerial in the bookpedagogical factors – questions relating to the principles underlying thematerials and the pedagogical design of the materials, including choice ofactivities and exercise types

Adapting Textbooks
Commercial textbooks can seldom be used without some form of adaptation to
make them more suitable for the particular context in which they will be used.
This adaptation may take a variety of forms.
1. Modifying content
Content may need to be changed because it does not suit the target learners,perhaps because of factors related to the learners’ age, gender, social class,occupation, religion or cultural background.
2. Adding or deleting content
The book may contain too much or too little for the program. Whole units may
have to be dropped, or perhaps sections of units throughout the book omitted.

4For example a course may focus primarily on listening and speaking skills andhence writing activities in the book will be omitted.
3. Reorganizing content
A teacher may decide to reorganize the syllabus of the book, and arrange theunits in what she considers a more suitable order. Or within a unit the teacher
may decide not to follow the sequence of activities in the unit but to reorder themfor a particular reason.
4. Addressing omissions
The text may omit items that the teacher feels are important. For example ateacher may add vocabulary activities or grammar activities to a unit.
5. Modifying tasks
Exercises and activities may need to be changed to give them an additional focus.
For example a listening activity that focuses only on listening for information isadapted so that students listen a second or third time for a different purpose. Or
an activity may be extended to provide opportunities for more personalizedpractice.
6. Extending tasks
Exercises may contain insufficient practice and additional practice tasks may need
to be added.
The ability to be able to adapt commercial textbooks in these ways is an
essential skill for teachers to develop. Through the process of adaptation theteacher personalizes the text making it a better teaching resource as well as
individualizes it for a particular group of learners. Normally this process takes
place gradually as the teacher becomes more familiar with the book since thedimensions of the text which need adaptation may not be apparent until the bookis tried out in the classroom. When a number of teachers in a program areteaching from the same textbook it is useful to build in opportunities for teachers
to share information about the forms of adaptation they are making.

Monitoring the Use of Materials
No matter what form of materials teachers make use of, whether they teach fromtextbooks, institutional materials, or teacher-prepared materials, they represent
plans for teaching. They do not represent the process of teaching itself. As
teachers use materials, they adapt and transform them to suit the needs ofparticular groups of learners and their own teaching styles. These processes oftransformation are at the heart of teaching and enable good teachers to create
effective lessons out of the resources they make use of. It is useful therefore tocollect information on how teachers use course books and other teachingmaterials in their teaching. The information collected can serve the following
purposes.
!
!
!
!

To document effective ways of using materials
To provide feedback on how materials work
To keep a record of additions, deletions, and supplementary materials
teachers may have used with the materials
To assist other teachers in using the materials

5Monitoring may take the following forms:
1. Observation
Classroom visits to see how teachers use textbooks and to find out how materials
influence the quality of teaching and interaction that occurs in a lesson.
2. Feedback sessions
Group meetings in which teachers discuss their experience with textbooks.
3. Written reports
The use of reflection sheets or other forms of written feedback in which teachers
make brief notes about what worked well, what didn’t work well, or givesuggestions on using the materials.
4. Reviews
Written reviews by a teacher or group of teachers on their experiences with a setof materials and what they liked or disliked about them.
5. Students’ reviews
Comments from students on their experience with the materials

Conclusions
Despite the impact of new technologies, textbooks will doubtless continue to play
an important role in language teaching and provide a useful resource for bothteachers and learners. Good textbooks serve to turn the guidelines in the official
government syllabus into a rich source of content, texts, and activities that would
be beyond the capacities of most teachers to develop on their own. The use oftextbooks should not be seen as reflecting a deficiency on the part of the teacher,any more than the use of computer-based materials would be so regarded.
Textbooks should be regarded as one of the many resources teachers can draw
upon in creating effective lessons, but teachers need training and experience inadapting and modifying textbooks as well as in using authentic materials and increating their own teaching materials.

Reading List
Cunningsworth, A. 1995. Choosing Your Coursebook. Oxford: Heinemann.

Jack C. Richards is an Adjunct Professor at SEAMEO
RELC. His most recent book is Curriculum
Development in Language Teaching (Cambridge2001).

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