Abstract
Despite the advances in technology and the role of the internet, coursebooks are the main teaching resource used by many of the world’s English teachers. The extent of English teaching worldwide could probably not be sustained without the support of the many different kinds of textbooks and their ancillaries that are available to support English teachers (Tomlinson, 2003). In many schools textbooks provide the main basis for the curriculum (Richards, 1993). Appel (2011: 50-51) comments: ‘In no other school subject do coursebooks exert a similar influence as in language teaching. The book is in fact often treated as the syllabus.’ Coursebooks often determine the goals and content of teaching, as well as the methods teachers use. For both teachers and learners, the textbook provides a map that lays out the general content of lessons and a sense of structure that gives coherence to individual lessons, as well as to an entire course.
An expanded version of this paper appears in Key Issues in Language Teaching : Jack C. Richards, Cambridge University Press (in press).
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© 2014 Jack C. Richards
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Richards, J.C. (2014). The ELT Textbook. In: Garton, S., Graves, K. (eds) International Perspectives on Materials in ELT. International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137023315_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137023315_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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