Ah, the course book!

As a future teacher I would like to devote some words to the importance of choosing a good textbook for students. This never-ending search for the 'perfect' course book affects every teacher, worldwide.

But first let´s consider why a course book is needed. Many teachers bring other materials into class anyway. But this doesn´t mean they are not willing to use a course book  and create/bring different materials for every lesson. The reason is that the course book provides a rich resource of materials and a structured, well thought syllabus. It is really helpful, as it guides us on what and how to teach, giving advices on the best techniques for presenting the material.

So for the teacher the course book is plenty of ideas but do the students need it? We can just give them a photocopied worksheet, as some teachers do . The answer is Yes. Because the good course book offers the students stability, sense of progress and achievement! . It offers them a sense of confidence and satisfaction as they know where they are headed and where they've been. Offering the students an endless parade of photocopied pages ( taken from other course books undoubtedly) is disorganized and regarded as less professional

So how to choose a good course book for your students?

Teachers need to take many different factors into consideration when choosing the textbook. We need to think about our students' needs, interests, ability and level. When choosing a textbook we should concentrate on the following questions:

      -Does the book’s content match well the learning objectives for the course?

      -Do the problems in each chapter provide good learning experiences for the students?

      -Is the book engaging?

      -Is the cost reasonable?

      -What about quality?

      -Do other professors like the textbook as well?

Another good idea would be to get a feedback from students about the textbook  they were using  what would influence your future decisions. Textbook selection results from of the joint efforts of both teachers and students.