English Course Books

Do you have trouble finding the right book for your class? let me give you some advice about how to search for an appropriate English book according to the level and age of your class.

In the past, if someone wanted to write a text book for pupils, he could write and publish it without examining whether the book is suitable for the target population. The fact that the books were not examined in terms of content, level of language and cognitive suitability led to confusion about the teaching methods. In contrast to the past, nowadays the books have to be approved by The Ministry of Education. If the book has not been approved, it can't be used in a class.

A complete course book needs to have the whole package that must include three main parts: student book, workbook and teacher's guide, and it may include a dictionary, flash cards, short stories and a CD\CD ROM. If a book package doesn’t have one of the three main parts; it is not a complete course book.

When you are searching for a book, there are a few things you need to check.  First, check the accuracy of the content, in terms of English spelling and grammar; you need to see if the content is suitable for your class level. Then you have to make sure that the cognitive level and the skill level suits your class level by carefully scanning the text and questions in the book. Don’t forget that the content and the language should match. There is an option to use the English Curriculum's division of stages and levels that appears in each of the course books. We also need to check which type of English the book uses, UK or USA. Don’t look only in the teacher's guide; you also have to examine the student book and the workbook.

There is a wide range of course books; each book has a different attitude to learning, and you as a teacher need to choose whether you are teacher or a teacher that believes in developing thinking skills.

In addition to the course books there are supplementary books (they are also called support books), for example: unseen books, fun books, reading books, grammar books and coloring books. These books don’t need to be approved by the Ministry of Education, and we can use them as extra aids for the class.

Now, after you have read this post, and by following all the instructions, you will find the appropriate course book for your class, but remember- Texts may have the same meaning but be presented in different ways. Your job is to find the right textbook.