Digital technologies, especially mobile devices, have transformed learner expectations about how they access and use content, and this has major implications for ELT course materials.This presentation describes a research project started in 2010, new desk research and interviews, and offer recommendations on how publishers and educational institutions should meet the needs of learners and teachers.
3. Research approach
2010
•Literature review
-management innovation,
strategy, marketing, ELT
•Desk research
•10 “expert” interviews
•Teacher consultation
2016
•Experience of working on
relevant projects
•Desk research
•5 “expert” interviews
•Talks & conversations at
this conference
5. UK teachers on coursebooks in 2010
“It helps teachers by giving structure
and organisation to lessons. We will
always need an established basis for a
course, even if we then diversify.
Students need a basis to "hang onto"
and to revise from, whether it be
online or hard copy or limited to other
resources.”
“It helps teachers by giving structure
and organisation to lessons. We will
always need an established basis for a
course, even if we then diversify.
Students need a basis to "hang onto"
and to revise from, whether it be
online or hard copy or limited to other
resources.”
“We're becoming more
technologically advanced and
students expect materials in a
more flexible and portable
format.”
“We're becoming more
technologically advanced and
students expect materials in a
more flexible and portable
format.”
“Books = learning for many
Students." Easy to refer to, flick
through, a security blanket for
Students and Teachers. Doesn't
break down or need electricity.”
“Books = learning for many
Students." Easy to refer to, flick
through, a security blanket for
Students and Teachers. Doesn't
break down or need electricity.”
“The coursebooks will all be digital,
conducted on iPads/tablets, but I think
the format of coursebooks will be the
same. This will save an immense
amount of paper and hence trees - a
good thing!”
“The coursebooks will all be digital,
conducted on iPads/tablets, but I think
the format of coursebooks will be the
same. This will save an immense
amount of paper and hence trees - a
good thing!”
6. ELT Coursebooks in 2010
• 750m speakers, 1 billion learners,
11 million teachers
• Growth in emerging markets
• International ELT market +/-
$10bn
• Coursebooks account for 90-95%
of publishing revenues
• Wide range of stakeholders
7. Long-standing concerns with
coursebooks
• McGrath (2006) research
suggests considerable
ambivalence towards the
coursebook
• Chambers (1997) observes
school managers often
choose coursebooks
• Tomlinson (2008) concurs
and argues too much focus
on teaching of linguistic
items
“[the] false paradigm of good
language learner as a hard-
working, analytical learner ..
cause[s] many experiential
learners to fail.” Tomlinson
8. 2010 Conclusions
• iPad and cheaper tablet
devices would be widely used
• New sales platforms & Apps
“ecosystem” opportunities
But important obstacles :
•Affordable tablets
•Classroom Internet access
•Content needed reimagining
•Pedagogy
•Teacher training
9. 2010 Recommendations:
reinventing courseware
• Regularly updated granular content, pick
and mix programmes of study.
• Clearer sense of learner progression:
testing, tracking, and e-portfolios
• Exploit authentic content on the Internet
• Self-study components for mobile
• Content that really interests and excites
learners (multisensory + cognitive
challenge)
• Wider repertoire of interactive routines
• “Book plus” halfway house
11. Coursebooks at IATEFL 2016
• Supplementing, adding value: “spicing up”
• Presenting culture
• Digital coursebooks, ebooks..
• Problems with coursebooks: “one size does
not fit all”, “safety blanket”, diversity vs
“Global textbooks”
• Unplugged, Dogme, “Barefoot”
• Harmer “Chronicle of death foretold”
12. IATEFL audience views
“A coursebook is a skeleton of a course
to be fleshed out by a teacher. “
“Out of date quickly”
“Expensive”
“Predictable structure”
“Quickly outdated! (content)”
“I love coursebooks, I think they are a
great resource for teachers and
students. In public schools in Brazil it
would be difficult to have ipods or
tablets to all kids although there are
some initiatives. “
13. 2016: summary
• Demand for printed coursebooks generally
strong
• “Teachers and students: online outside the
classroom, offline inside the classroom”
• Very limited classroom use of iPads or other
tablets in most places, “BYOD” problematic
• Limited use of e-workbooks/online
homework in many contexts
• Teacher training still an issue
14. Tight budgets and efficiency drives
Coursebook = commodity
• Government budget squeeze and centralised
procurement
• Consumer expectation for free stuff
• Publishers “circle round existing products”,
restructuring, jobs being cut, moved
“offshore”
• “Low grade content and processes = low
grade product”
15. Coursebooks as ebooks
• Not a life time purchase
• Pricing wrong
• User experience often
“book horribly
squeezed into an iPad”
• Copyright issues
IATEFL
Conference
Programme: print,
eBook, Flipbook,
App (IOS &
Android)
17. Other trends
• Scook – cross curricula learning platform
• Print + digital used together
• Online tutoring expanding
• Flipped classroom
18. Pedagogical issues
• Too much grammar?
• Not enough grammar?
• Role of homework?
• Spaced and Adaptive learning?
• New consumer products/old
methodologies
21. Conclusion
The digital successors to Coursebooks need:
•Digital pedagogies informed by
evidence/efficacy
•Better user experience and business models
•More coherent homework/self study
•Shorter lead-in times for new products
•Adequate and appropriate teacher training
22. Caroline Moore
14 April 2016
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Notas do Editor
McGrath survey of Teachers and Students, Chambers recommends involving teachers and learners, Tomlinson book includes his research in 12 countries, 85% admin, 15% teachers, 0% learners involved in decisions. Literature review revealed a lot of criticism, but Harmer (2007) observes vast majority of teachers use coursebooks to give structure and direction, and Tomlinson more positive about some recently published coursebooks which connect with learners’ cultures and lives, and engage learners in serious, educationally valuable activities.
Happy smiley faces here, not holding tablets, Indian HE students holding Aakash, Irish school children working on MS Surface which have digital pens. I anticipated obstacles…
And recommended the following. I also looked at Angry Birds as an interesting example of gamification, and Spotify for its business model. Both continue to be popular.
5 “expert” Interviews – 2 ELT publishers, ELT bookseller, language school academic director, digital ELT developer/publisher. Found details of 25talks related to coursebooks at this conference (search programme ”coursebook” “textbook”.
25 coursebook-related talks
Pairs and POSTITS
Most categories of ELT print doing fairly well, except dictionaries, and even then. Poor Wifi, a major constraint. Teacher skills a real issue, “teacher as technician” Liz Soars story re Headway trial. iPads high value, easy to break/lose/steal… In many perhaps most contexts, students do not use e-workbooks.
Ministries of Ed centralising procurement of textbooks, pushing down costs and asking for more. Publishers trying to get costs down, understandable response but quality an issue. Not much fun to work in this sector at the moment. Or to be an author! In some countries the CB is almost free, publishers have to make money from workbooks, and online learning.Competitive market, commoditized, same publishers as 5 or 6 years ago.
John Walsh very critical, feels for instance eReaders priced at 99p could do really well. But some publishers selling these to parents of children who can only access print books at school. And often publishers want “absolute parity with print”. Some iPad/ebook initiatives ill thought out, huge downloads of audio/video and inadequate internet in class.
This example from France, which has a national centralised education system. They have launched their ambitious “Ecole numerique” initiative. Also, a new language strategy, which emphasises other MFLs especially Germany. I found out about this in an interview with a German publisher.
e.g. Cornelsen provide video explanations for grammar, they find Lesson Manager ebooks provide great didactic value for teachers, who use in class. Scook is a hub for different subjects, publishers, parents can buy resources…gives publisher a direct channel. Even in ”iPad lessons” they have found students prefer to use the printed CB and then use device for Keynote and online research. That rucksack suddenly got even heavier! S. Wonders if 5 years ago we really understood reality of what happens inside and outside classroom. Inside real life interaction, perhaps role for digital primarily for when teacher not present? Classroom management challenge, you have a teacher at the front, students with headphones watching video in different places. Interesting work in Flipped learning, but needs student and teacher commitment, latter needs to log in before a lesson to review student progress. Incentivise students by adding LMS time to assessement. When done properly yields better learning outcomes, particularly productive skills if teacher focuses class activities on discussion.
Scott plenary Sat on “critical history of ELT” since 1966, will include discussion of coursebooks, and grammar, ref other presentations in this conference. Spaced and adaptive learning – of what? Most successful coursebooks embedded into particular PLS cultures, e.g. Headway?IH, English File/PLSs in Spain.
Duolingo, Papaggei Angry Birds, expensive compared to a workbook that might cost €10 a year. Most gamification in Education is really poor, embarrasingly bad, especially compared to proper games, or even say Strava.
Nick “Duolingo made homework fun but not necessarily useful”. Rhetoric around freedom fitting learning into your life, on the move, unrealistic as there are so many distractions and alternatives.
John Hattie, a lot of the methods and approaches promoted at this conference have arguably scant evidence. “teacher as technician”, primary ELT requires a lot of TT, CBs particularly important here, you need well trained and confident teachers, who are familiar with how their students use tech, especially SM and mobiles. Too many teachers still anti tech. and almost using this as badge of honour.