We need to talk about coursebooks
Abstract
Abstract General English coursebooks have dominated classroom-based ELT for 40 years. Their legitimacy seems unchallengeable; we can hardly remember a time when things were different, or imagine a time when coursebooks will not be used. And yet, coursebooks make assumptions about language learning that are contradicted by robust SLA research findings; they give teachers and students little say in decisions affecting course content and delivery; and they are influenced by commercial interests which some blame for the increasing commodification of education. This article reviews the case against coursebooks and briefly presents three alternative approaches to ELT. We argue that these alternatives have not been given the exposure they deserve in journals, conferences, and teacher training programmes, and that it is time to engage in more open, critical discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the ubiquitous coursebook.
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ELT publishing has a long and lucrative history, dating from the Longman publication of Michael West's New Method Readers in 1926 to the present day, where annual turnover runs to around US$194 billion.
“English language teaching (ELT) publishing as we know it today has a long and lucrative history, dating, according to Rix (2008), from the Longman publication of Michael West ' s New Method Readers in 1926, to the present day, where annual turnover runs to around US$194 billion (Jordan & Gray, 2019).”
From The Global ELT coursebook: A case of Cinderella's slipper? (2022) · cites this paper as Jordan & Gray, 2019
Cites
In Defense of Tasks and TBLT: Nonissues and Real Issues
Long, M. H. (2016) · Annual Review of Applied Linguistics · doi:10.1017/s0267190515000057 · Cited by 359 · see citing works
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The Global ELT coursebook: A case of Cinderella's slipper?
Mishan, F. (2022) · Language Teaching · doi:10.1017/s0261444820000646 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
- Authors
- Jordan, G., & Gray, H.
- Venue
- ELT Journal
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2019-10-04
- ISSN
- 0951-0893 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-4526
- OpenAlex
- W2982488196
- Cited by
- 113
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 6 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 85.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ELT Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › English Language Learning and Teaching
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Second Language Learning and Teaching
- Keywords
- coursebooks, second language acquisition research, commodification of education, teacher autonomy, critical language education, teacher professional development
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