Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Use of Textbooks in English Teaching

Abstract: The subject area of this study is English Teachers’ usage and attitudes towards textbooks when teaching. From personal work and practice experiences, teachers base their English teaching solely on textbooks. For many years, the use of textbooks in different subjects has been criticized. Despite this, the textbook is still a teaching aid that is widely used today. This study examines how the teachers use the textbook in their English teaching and how much room it gets. This case study begins with a presentation of different findings together with a literature review where it will display the nature of textbooks and teachers’ attitudes towards the use of textbooks. Furthermore, this case study will present the textbooks, and how they relate to the English subject in the Swedish curriculum. This, and how to accommodate the learners when teaching ESL will be displayed. This case study is based on two observations, one in grade 3, and one in grade 4. The observations are done in the same school, which will be referred to as the second school in this study. The contrast between the use of textbooks in the different grades will be analyzed through a review of content. This study will further present what other teaching materials are used. The observations will be analyzed and compared to interviews with six different teachers. Three teachers at one school, two of them in grade 3 and one of them in grade 4, and one teacher in grade 3 and two teachers in grade 4 at the second school. The results of this case study concluded that the use of textbooks differs depending on what school the teacher works in, what view the school has when using teaching aids, and if it is the decision of the teachers or the schools on what teaching aid should be used. The problem where the textbooks are not compatible with the curriculum can be considered as the most frequently appearing mistake that affects the development of young ESL learners. Moreover, any benefits of using textbooks will further be presented.