How long do you spend on textbooks in class?

Textbooks are to teaching what bones are to dogs! It is not uncommon to hear teachers claim that without them, they would not get by. In fact, textbooks are the most reliable tool for the ones with little or no experience. It is hard for a first-year teacher to prepare activities that are suitable for their groups in terms of level, range of vocabulary, approach and so forth. However, spending a hundred percent of your class on the textbook is so tedious that you might get your students sleeping after few minutes or even worse, you might not see them until the end of the year because they might end up dropping out. A good teacher knows that a coursebook is only a supplement, and implementing new activities is crucial to engage the learners in the process.

AVOID STARTING THE CLASS WITH THE BOOK

It is a good idea to start the class with a warm-up to get students in tune with the topic you are teaching. There are many ways to do that, you can use the same exercise from the book but in a disguised way, you can also start with a quick review of the previous class, or even use games, competitions, quizzes, to break the ice. 

PRE-TEACH GRAMMAR

It will be easier for your students to master a grammar topic if they are explicitly exposed to it beforehand. The explanations about grammar in textbooks are in general summarized. 

EXPAND THE VOCABULARY BANK

Do not limit yout class to the words from the book. Bring up more words related to the topic by using pictures, drawings, word lists etc.

DO NOT FORGET THE BOOK

You should not put the book aside. The same way studets get bored with the book, they will get bored if it is not used. Besides that, students have the feeling they are getting somewhere when they finish a chapter, a module and a book. The teacher must find a balance between book and extra activities.