How does the use of the textbook impact the EFL teacher practice?

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(1)1 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES. How does the use of the textbook impact the EFL teacher practice? Bárbara Vergara A. Universidad Alberto Hurtado. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Seminar and English Bachelor Degree of Alberto Hurtado University Stephen Darwin. December, 2017.

(2) 2 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES Abstract This research explored the impact of the use of a coursebook on the teaching practices of four English teachers, aiming to understand their perceptions towards the use of this resource. In order to comprehend this, a qualitative methodology was adopted, using an online survey and a Likert scale responded by teachers, a collection of self-reports, and an artefact: Think, the textbook in analysis. Results suggested that the use of Think indeed had an impact on the teacher practices, primarily perceived in a positive way, providing teachers with a framework for teaching, reducing their workload, and helping them teach more effectively. Nevertheless, they acknowledged the need to complement or adapt the materials offered by this tool. In addition, results indicated that the educators’ use of creativity was affected by preventing its use rather than enhancing it..

(3) 3 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES Introduction Textbooks are an essential part of the process of English Language Teaching. They constitute one of the most used resources among English teachers in the globe. It has been even argued that they are “an almost universal element of teaching” (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994, p. 315). Therefore, the use of the textbook becomes a pivotal aspect in understanding the existing teaching dynamics. Garinger (2002) suggests that textbooks can serve different purposes for teachers. They can be used as a source of complementary material, as a core resource, as a stimulation for classroom activities, and even as the curriculum itself. In view of this, textbooks can play a dominant role in influencing the teaching processes. In this sense, it is important to evaluate the influence of this paradigm on the educators’ daily practice. Accordingly, this investigation was conducted on an educational context in which English teachers dealt with a curriculum based on the textbook, and therefore their practices were influenced by it. The research reported here was conducted in Colegio San Ignacio Alonso de Ovalle, a private school located in Santiago. In this school, teachers work in separate departments according to the subject and the cycle of education they teach. In the English department of the third cycle (7th to 12th grade), teachers work with Think, a foreign coursebook published by Cambridge University Press. That is to say, this book is used as a framework for teaching. As stated in the English annual plan held on the school website, the resources used by English teachers in the classroom are the English File (British version), CD- Rom, Audio CDs, and worksheets (Colegio San Ignacio Alonso de Ovalle, 2016). Accordingly, this research focused on the impact of using one of these materials: The English File, also known as the textbook. In relation to the context described above, this study intended to approach an understanding of the impact that the textbook Think has on the teachers who work with it as a framework for instruction. Thus, the focus of this study was the effect of this methodological.

(4) 4 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES resource on the teaching practices of the participants. Consequently, the research question that led this investigation was “How does the use of the textbook impact the EFL teacher practice?. Research methodology A qualitative methodology was adopted to conduct this study. This method was selected as it facilitates the generation of understanding of the research topic. As Johnson argues, qualitative research is a tool to “gain a richer understanding of the many interrelated factors involved in learning” (as cited in McKay, 2006, p.1). This is done through the identification of common themes emerging from the data collection methods. In relation to this, Sampieri, Collado, Lucio & Pérez (1998) recommends that the investigator identifies codes in the participants’ responses, classifies them into categories, compares these categories to find common themes, and looks for possible links among them (p. 448). This reveals potential meanings and hypotheses by which to understand the data. Accordingly, through the analysis of the data generated by this study, repeated patterns, themes and also omissions were identified. The process described above provided information that was relevant to approach the research question of this investigation. This data served as a point of comparison to other studies and of further reflection on the focus of this one. Indeed, according to O’Leary (2013), the purpose of going through this process was to try to “figure out why these themes emerged, how they connect to each other and what their implications are for teaching” (p. 6). In other words, this research not only intended to understand an existing paradigm of the school context, but also to comprehend the consequences of this in teaching. In fact, the objective of this investigation was directly linked to teaching, as it proposed to explore the impact of the use of the coursebook Think on the teaching practices of English educators..

(5) 5 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES. Data collection methods Three different data collection methods were implemented in this research. One of them consisted of the textbook itself (the Student’s and Teacher’s version). This artefact provided information on the available resources for teachers to use in their lessons, as well as ways in which they could deal with it; that is, strategies to work with the textbook in the classroom. Another method was an online survey answered by the four English teachers of the third cycle. This survey was composed of six open questions related to specific ways in which these educators dealt with the use of the textbook and how they perceived the impact of this in their teaching practices (see Appendix 1). Additionally, in this online tool, a Likert scale was included proposing aspects in which the textbook might or not have an impact on the teachers’ practices. Thus, teachers had to indicate their level of agreement with the statements that referred to these aspects, providing the necessary information for further analysis (see Appendix 2). The final method was a collection of self-reports that were written from the very first day of observation at the school. These papers described the nature of the teachers’ practices in relation to the textbook as well as situations that uncovered the paradigm that they lived in this particular context. Research findings. The Textbook Provides a Framework for Teaching. The most repeated theme that emerged among the data was that the textbook provided a clear and generally welcomed framework for teaching. In other words, the use of this resource offered material and organization for teaching. In the online survey and Likert scale, data suggested that teachers shared this belief. In fact, all agreed -either completely or partially- with.

(6) 6 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES the statement “The textbook helps me organize my lessons”. For instance, one respondent stated that the book “gives me a guide to teach, it is an organized material I can use” (Survey, November 30th, 2017). Moreover, this is coherent with the introduction of the textbook, in which it was found that its elaborators aimed at enhancing the production of better language teaching materials (Lewis-Jones, Puchta & Stranks, 2015). This finding is further supported by the fact that the textbook in this school was used as a coursebook: “Each class works with a different textbook according to the level. They have to complete one each year. (…) Actually, all teachers use it as the curriculum, since tests are made based on the content and exercises of the units. Then, I will have to base my lessons on it too” (Self-report, August 13th, 2017). This statement reveals a perception of reality within this school, which can also extend to the reality of teachers entering this context. Then, data illustrates that the book Think was not only considered as an available framework for teaching, but was indeed the basis for teaching among the participants. Although the English textbook was considered the framework for teaching, and this is referred to positively, teachers did not seem to understand it entirely. This incoherence is presented when teachers reacted to the statement: “I can clearly understand the textbook structure and organization of the content” (Likert scale, November 30th, 2017), in which half of them partially agreed, and the other half partially disagreed. Concerning this side of the finding, it was showed that even though Think is welcomed by the participants as a basis for teaching, its structure is not clear enough for them when employing it.. The Use of the Textbook Reduces Teachers’ Workload. The second finding related to the teachers’ workload. In this regard, all of the educators shared the belief that their workload diminishes as a result of using the textbook. Thus, when.

(7) 7 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES asked about their agreement with the statement: “The textbook helps saving time in planning and elaborating learning material”, all respondents completely agreed. By the same token, in one of the self-report entries, it was noted in regard to the textbook that: “I don’t like it very much, yet it saves me lots of time of thinking of activities” (Self-report, October 16th, 2017). In addition to this, one of the teachers stressed that using the textbook makes planning “simpler, offering you alternative activities”. Another participant referred to the same idea by expressing that “you avoid having to design your own units” (Survey, November 30th, 2017). Indeed, each Think coursebook provides twelve units to be implemented in class. In brief, there was a link between the textbook availability of resources and the decrease of teachers’ workload, given that these professionals were provided materials, and therefore they did not have the need to elaborate them.. Teachers Need to Adapt or Complement the Textbook Materials in Many Ways. Another important finding links to the adaptations required to use the textbook. In relation to this, it was found that there are various ways in which teachers feel the need to adapt the coursebook materials. The key element in this finding dealt with the topics presented by Think. From the point of view of most teachers, they need to find ways to relate them to the students’ context, because of the distance existing between the British and Chilean culture. This was presented as an obstacle for teaching. In one self-report entry, it was demonstrated that this could not only be a challenge for teachers, but also for students: “today I used a reading about an English celebration in class, (…) suddenly one of the kids asks me: Miss, can I ask you a question, but don’t be offended. How is this relevant to us?” (Self-reports, August 24th, 2017) The participants also referred to necessary changes in terms of elaboration of assessments (tests and examinations). In this sphere, they expressed the urge to adapt the assessments offered.

(8) 8 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES by Think. In this regard, five types of modification were mentioned, yet the most repeated one was connected with the particularity of the class (level of English proficiency and contents that were emphasized in class).. The Use of the Textbook Helps Teachers Teach Effectively. The effectivity of teaching was another theme that emerged in this study. Here it was suggested that the textbook helps teachers teach English effectively. Indeed, most of the respondents agreed with that belief. The textbook itself aims at improving teaching when declaring to be designed to encourage the teaching, learning and assessment of English worldwide (Lewis-Jones, Puchta, Rezmuves & Stranks, 2015). This idea was connected to some teachers’ opinions who referred to the effectivity of the book based on the expertise of the authors who founded it. For instance, one teacher commented that, “it is almost impossible to compete with the interactive creations of experts and their teams coming from the USA or the UK who make really effective books for teaching” (Survey, November 30th, 2017). As for the Teacher’s version of the book, many suggestions for effective teaching are offered: strategies to work with mixed-ability classrooms, monitoring, giving feedback, clarifying language structures, among others. Interestingly, there is no complete agreement with the following statement: “The “Teacher’s Book” offers all the aid I need to use the textbook effectively”. In fact, most of the participants partially agreed and one of them completely disagreed. This means that even though the Teacher’s Book provides key elements for teaching along with the textbook, teachers in this context did not fully consider this source as sufficiently enough for their effective teaching..

(9) 9 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES. The Reliance on the Textbook Affects the Teachers’ Use of Creativity. The final theme that emerged in this research was teachers’ creativity. This is expressed in the relationship between the availability of resources presented by the English textbook and the lack of use of creativity manifested by teachers. In the introduction of the textbook in analysis it is established that: “Think is a six-level course (…) based on a carefully crafted skills and language syllabus” (Lewis-Jones, Puchta, Rezmuves & Stranks, 2015, p.6). Thus, the book attempts to provide enough materials to carry out a language course. Consequently, teachers who work with it have the choice to use these materials as they are offered, as well as to use their creativity to adapt or complement them. In this regard, one of the participants expressed that the textbook prevented them from being creative when followed strictly. Similarly, another teacher said (s)he did not need to think about anything else but the book, thus, not being creative in some occasions. In fact, this was observed in several self-report entries, when the teachers’ creativity was questioned. In these observations, it was stated that most of the teachers did not often include materials on their lessons other than the textbook’s, and that some of them did not even plan ahead their lessons, as they followed the textbook units.. Implications Concerning the diversity of studies and literature around the use of the textbook, some similarities with this research were noted. One theme that was found in many investigations was the framework for teaching that a textbook provides. In one study of Thai teachers, data indicated that they regarded textbooks as instructional framework as they assisted them in their teaching practices (Srakang, 2014). Similarly, Richards stated that textbooks supply various learning resources and can provide actual language models and input (2001). Within these views,.

(10) 10 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES textbooks are considered useful tools that nurture and organize the work of educators. In the same way, Ur (1998) points out that textbooks guide teachers in what they have done and what will be done. These perspectives shed light on the fact that textbooks can provide a solid basis for teachers, not only at a local, but also at a global extent. Hence, it becomes important to understand how to use these materials properly. Interestingly, one problematic regarding this topic emerged in this research. This issue was the inconsistency of the teachers’ discourse in terms of the use they gave to Think. On the one hand, teachers agreed that this coursebook provides a basis, structure and input for teaching, but on the other hand they were not certain about how to accommodate their teaching practices to this framework. In consecuence, it may be necessary to examine ‘how’, and ‘to what extent’ the textbook provides a framework for teaching. In other words, the reliability of this finding can be questioned given the fact that the participants affirmed this, and yet did not show clarity on how this was actually truthful when teaching. Another similarity with this research that was found in Srakang’s study was that “textbooks helped save teachers’ time in teaching preparation”. In this sense, “teachers indicated that they were assigned to undertake extra duties (…) Consequently, using textbooks was the best way which reduced teachers’ workloads” (p.54, 2014). This was very similar to the statement of one of this research participants: “as most teachers are not given the necessary time to plan, most books give you some blinks of how the school year might be” (Survey, November 30th, 2017). This situation shows that the second main finding of this investigation was shared in different contexts, reinforcing the idea that a coursebook has an utility in terms of time and organization. Alternatively, more information was unveiled in these statements: Teachers have to comply with several duties in their daily practice, a paradigm that could be worth looking for, in order to understand why it is important to reduce the educators’ workload..

(11) 11 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES In terms of using an international book, there were shared challenges with Ahmadi’s Iranian study (2016). These included the cultural discordance between textbooks and school realities, the difference of linguistic capability and, although it was not explicitly mentioned in this study, it was revealed that supplementary materials for teaching were needed. This problematic was expressed in Srakang’s study as: “Due to the different cultural settings, topics dealt with cultural information of native countries made learners uncomfortable to study” (2014, p. 54). Richards and Renandya shared this finding as they revealed that textbooks could provide inappropriate cultural understanding for the students (2002). In this regard, it is pivotal to reflect on the effect that this can have on the teaching and learning process, and more accurately for this study, on the teacher practices (whether they do something about this or not). A final theme that was shared with other research was the effect of the use of the textbook on the teachers’ creativity. Ur declares that textbooks can hinder teachers’ creativity and initiative because of its set structure and sequence (1998). In the same way, in this investigation teachers acknowledged the same effect. Consequently, the reliance on the textbook could become detrimental in terms of the enrichment of teaching practices..

(12) 12 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES Conclusions. In terms of the use of the textbook, several studies have been developed worldwide. This research focused on one sphere that links to this, the teaching practices. This area was of particular interest to the context of this study, considering that the teachers’ experience was shaped by a curriculum based on the coursebook Think, and therefore their practices were adjusted to it. This study showed that the viewpoint of most of the participants was positive towards the use of the textbook, considering the impact it has on their practices. In this sense, two benefits were recognized as most significant to them: a framework for teaching and the reduction of workload. This perception was not only expressed by these educators, but also by experts who have studied this topic in different contexts around the globe. For this reason, it can be said that knowing about these benefits can promote the use of this resource to aim at improving the teacher experience. Alternatively, it is necessary to consider the possible negative consequences that the use of the textbook can have on this experience, especially in terms of adapting this material and using creativity in this process. However, the need to do this can be approached in a positive way, by considering it a challenge. According to Ahmadi (2016), “using or adapting textbooks is an important part of teachers’ professional knowledge; furthermore, the textbook is provided mainly to match the teachers’ instruction” (p. 261). In this respect, this investigation suggested that using a foreign textbook as Think indeed required significant professional knowledge..

(13) 13 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES References Ahmadi, A., & Derakhshan, A. (2016). EFL teachers' perceptions towards textbook evaluation. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(2), 260. Colegio San Ignacio Alonso de Ovalle (2016). Colegio San Ignacio. Retrieved from http://www.colegiosanignacio.cl/ Garinger, D. (2002). Textbook Selection for the EFLClassroom. Washington DC: ERIC Digest. Hutchinson,T. & E. Torres (1994). ‘The textbook as an agent.’ ELT Journal, 48/4. Johnson, D (1992) Approaches to research in second language learning. New York: Longman. APERA Conference, Hong Kong. Lewis-Jones, Puchta, Rezmuves & Strank (2015) Think: Teacher’s Book 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lewis-Jones, Puchta & Stranks (2015). Think: Combo 1b Student’s Book and Workbook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McKay, S. L. (2006). Researching second language classrooms. Routledge: Longman. Richards, J. & Renandya, W. (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Srakang, L. (2014). A study of teachers perceptions toward using English textbooks: a case study of 10th grade English teachers in Maha Sarakham Province (Doctoral dissertation). Sampieri, R., Collado, C., Lucio, P., & Pérez, M. (1998). Metodología de la investigación (Vol. 1). México: Mcgraw-hill. Ur, P. (1998) A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. UK: Cambridge University Press..

(14) 14 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES Appendix 1. Survey.

(15) 15 Running Head: USING THE TEXTBOOK. THE IMPACT ON TEACHING PRACTICES. 2. Likert scale.

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