The use of ESL/EFL coursebooks with children can be a great help to teachers to plan their classes However, we shouldn’t be dependent on them at the cost of our own imagination.
The use of ESL/EFL coursebooks with children is typically something that is beyond our control as teachers. It usually depends on the specific language school as well as their policy. There are clearly benefits and drawbacks to the use of course books in teaching students in the early years – but we must be wary of not relying too much on them to provide all of the lessons we teach. Ellie Romero writes.
The teaching of English to children is an extremely difficult task and is not without its own variety of difficulties. One of the challenges is knowing how to arrange and organize lessons so that children are learners interested and engaged. Beginning with a blank sheet of paper can be difficult, particularly for novice or not experienced instructors.
Utilizing a textbook for ESL/EFL courses will greatly assist in the planning and organization of lessons and will save you a lot of time in preparation. Course books can offer an extremely useful framework with clear goals, with suggestions and materials that provide focus and consistency to the lessons.
But, we need to be aware when we use course books with our children, to ensure to ensure that we don’t become lazy and only rely on them to deliver all the lesson materials. Teachers who are good at their job know that they have to bring their own personal style and flair to their lessons. It is important to incorporate a variety of activities that will keep children’s interest, and to reinforce the fundamental language in a variety of interesting ways.
Here’s a reminder of the benefits and drawbacks of using EFL/ESL books for children, so that we should be aware of the way we utilize the books in our classrooms.
Benefits of using ESL/EFL course books for children
They’re usually bright and vibrant and are divided into topics that are popular which is why they immediately grab the attention of children and keep their interest.
Many of them have an already-designed framework that can help ensure a certain amount of consistency and logical development.
They have a clearly defined list of goals and objectives for every lesson. This is useful when determining or creating supplementary activities.
The content is usually clearly laid out, with an extensive selection of material for language for all four abilities (reading writing, speaking as well as listening).
They’re especially useful for beginners teachers who aren’t experienced by providing pre-made activities as well as lesson plans, making it simpler to prepare for every class.
If the materials for the add-on are bought (Flashcards or CD-ROMs, posters, etc.) this will save the time spent the making or locating these types of materials for stimulus.
It is the cheapest or most efficient way to offer education materials to every pupil.
The disadvantages of using ESL/EFL course books for children
The content is not always appropriate for a particular class because of the class’s levels, abilities and so on. The burden of having to choose an instructional book for the whole year – one that is too simple or too complex, or is culturally incorrect – can be an unimaginable nightmare!
The framework or progression could become too rigid. They’re made for the average student’. This isn’t actually the case!
There aren’t enough activities for practice for the primary language being taught, and there isn’t much differentiation , and there is no room for learning styles that differ.
The exercises are often presented in extremely monotonous ways, making them extremely predictable (i.e. boring!) for students in the early years.
They are often unable to give adequate, real model of a language. Certain audio material are horrendous!
Teachers can be enticed to make sacrifices and be less imaginative. It’s easy to fall into the routine of taking the ideas from the text instead of making use of our imaginations in order to bring the subjects to life.
There are many add-on resources that publishers would like schools to purchase such as flashcards, posters, and CD-ROMs. A lot of schools aren’t able to spend money on these items and this makes it hard for teachers to make maximum value from the books.
Conclusion
No matter how great the course book may be the contents of it are not enough to fill the all-hour (or even) in class or even hold the attention of the students for the length of time. One book will never be able to be able to satisfy the needs of every child, or the needs of every teacher in any way!
It’s highly unlikely that anyone instructs children from a single course book, or for a whole class, and not be penalized for bad behavior and losing control of the classroom! Children require variety, changes in their pace and activities as well as lots of physical interaction with games and songs.
No matter what the advantages there is always the have to add more contents, change certain activities or sometimes, we’ll have to skip certain activities completely! Every child needs a different level of encouragement, support, and encouragement. We must be skilled in adapting and adding to the curriculum to fit the specific needs of our classes.
Therefore, while using course books that are ESL/EFL for children can help us in the planning and organization of our lessons, they will not replace your own thoughts and imagination. We must still use our own imagination and be inspiring. We must find other ways to inspire and engage students in our classrooms, and to continually revise and re-use the most important language in engaging ways.
