Reflection 4

Every school has its own set of textbooks. These are often decided by the school administration. This has been different from school to school, which I have seen when I am in practice. I have now been to three different schools, and not one of them use the same textbook. One school had one textbook they used all the time. They followed the textbook, the way my teacher did when I went to high school. The one I am in now is more focused on using different material. They use a textbook, but the teachers are encouraged to use different textbooks and other material. That way the students learn more then if the teacher only uses one textbook.

Teaching English is in my opinion not limited to one textbook. As an English teacher one should always have a lot of material available. A textbook can be a good resource, but one should not limit the teaching to only one book. Students need to learn different things, not only what is limited in a book with about 300 pages. When you as an English teacher use different material, you are in charge of the learning process. To take control, and make sure that your students get the best information possible, is the best way to teach English. There will always be activities in the textbook that one can improve, and make better for the students. It is a teachers job to make sure that whatever you make the students do, it is for them to learn the content in the best possible way. And to make sure that the content is full, not only a piece of the information/story but the full information. That is where another material comes in. If one works at a school where it is common to only use the textbook that is given to the students, it is the teacher's job to make sure that there will be given more information about the different topics.

In my practices these last three years I have come across different books. Last year I came across On the move. The English teacher used this book a lot in class. And this was the only book the students had access to. The book was used as a guideline throughout the year, it showed the students what they were going to learn, and when they were going to learn the different subjects. In that way using a textbook can be good for the students. When they get the book at the beginning of the year, they know what to expect and what they are going to learn the next year. The problem with only using one textbook is that the students will only learn what is in the book. For some of the students that will be enough, for some, it might even be too much. But then you have the students that need to learn more. Then it is up to the teacher to provide the students with the information or the activities they need to learn, and to make sure that they reach the highest level they can. I liked On the move. It was a good book, but it was a book where it was only a few pages with information about a topic. So the teacher needed to find additional information for the students, which is not a problem if the teacher is interested in doing the research. Which every teacher should.

Other material available can be a lot of different things. It can be different textbooks, it can be books you as a teacher came by when you went to school. Some of the books at school now also have a website or a DVD with different activities and more information. And there is the internet. One should always be a little critical to whats on the internet, but there is still a lot of resources one can find there when it comes to additional information and activities one can use. For me, it is important to have a varied teaching. With a focus on communicative practice. You can find all sorts of activities and information on the internet. Which is why, in addition to textbooks and other books, one should always use the internet for research. And as a teacher one should teach the students how to find good information on the internet. That way they become critical to the information they come across, and they will find good information when they are working with assignments.