Reference Books!

[H.Ibraheem]

Referring to what’s happening in some of our schools where the course books are brushed aside and used only as reference books, I wonder how useful this could be. As I see it, the course book is exactly like a path that we should follow step by step to get to our desired destination. I also believe that they are like a medical treatment course that shouldn’t be left aside or changed, especially if it is EFFECTIVE. And I think that the English Skills is that type of course books that should be followed word by word. I don’t think that we, teachers, could be more professional course makers than course book writers, could we?

[Terry Phillips]

I am obviously biased, as a writer in general and a co-author of Skills in English in particular, but I totally agree with the previous writer. Teachers are like actors. They bring scripts to life on the stage of the classroom. Coursebook writers are like playwrights. They plot the scope and sequence of the material to be learnt. Do all actors expect to be playwrights, or, even worse, to improvise whole plays moment by moment on stage? The skill of the coursebook writer is massively underestimated by many people including, unfortunately, some people who direct the efforts of teachers in the classroom.