The Best EFL Coursebook for Online Teaching

I've been in the online teaching industry for more than 5 years, so believe me when I tell you that I have tried and tested many coursebooks and materials that can make or break an online lesson, especially when you teach adults (which is what this blog post will focus on). But before I tell you which coursebook we use now and why that one is the best, let's get one thing straight:

Coursebooks are not the law, they are a tool!

(and you can quote me on that)

I see so many new teachers stick only to a coursebook while preparing and then executing their lessons as if that was the holy grail of successful teaching. And it's great to use coursebooks as a basis for lesson planning and utilizing the hard work of its authors and big publishing companies who have the resources to conduct ample R&D, so you know that what you are teaching is, in fact, at the correct level. However, sticking only to coursebooks is a huge rookie mistake because:

1. There are no perfect coursebooks. Each of them has flaws and probably won't meet all of your needs or those of your students, no matter how big of a name the publisher is. 
2. Blindly following a specific coursebook doesn't mean you'll cover everything needed for a certain level. Just imagine you chose another coursebook to use in your class. Chances are that it wouldn't cover all the same content within lessons and expose students to 100% of the same vocabulary or grammar tasks. A lesson on sustainable farming in your chosen coursebook that's used as context for teaching future predictions might be great, but another coursebook might do it through a lesson on technology and do it equally well. Does that mean your students will be so deprived that they won't be able to make progress because they didn't use a specific coursebook? I don't think so.
3. You are constraining your creativity if you only stick to what you are sure of. I know it might be intimidating at first to see yourself as an expert and to take risks in your classroom, but that's the only way to learn and to improve your teaching skills.
4. Your students will easily get bored, no matter how great the coursebook is. Coursebooks are created with a certain routine in mind, which makes it easier to use them. They are divided into units and lessons, certain types of tasks precede others and most of them finish with some kind of a production task (or at least they should). All this can be great when you first start with your class, as it will give them guidance and they'll know what to expect. But, knowing what to expect can get dull pretty fast. That's why you should always think of ways to spice things up instead of just following the order of the tasks in your coursebook.

There are so many wonderful, inspiring and ingenious sources online that can help you step out of your comfort zone and make such memorable classes, so I'll make sure to mention the ones I like in my future posts. But, let's go back to coursebooks.

I've given you the reasons I have gathered through my experience on why you should look at coursebooks as tools and not look at them as if they were these almighty items, but the truth is that coursebooks do offer a great structure to your course and choosing the right one might be a daunting task, especially if you use it for online courses.

So, without further ado - here's the best EFL coursebook for online teaching:

ENGLISH FILE 4th Edition published by Oxford University Press

Why we love it

Because it's fully flexible

Whether you’re teaching face to face, remotely, or both, English File offers flexible teaching and learning tools for every situation because the fourth edition is available in both print and digital format. In my school, every student gets the printed version of the coursebook so that they can follow along with pen and paper (which, as research has shown us, is more effective than learning straight from the screen), while the teachers use the digital version that is shown on the screen, which is intuitive to use. This way we get the best of both worlds.

The Teacher's Resource Centre allows us to manage all English File resources and teaching materials in one place online and create digital classrooms for students and check their progress as they do their extra practice activities online. 

We love the number of tasks it provides (although you don't have to use all of them) and how great they are structured so that the whole lesson flow seems like you are sitting in a coffee shop with a friend, talking about the topic in English and doing some activities while having fun.

Also, there are 8 levels currently available and we love the A2-B1 and B1+, which are great for those students stuck between levels A2, B1 and B2, who need some extra practice and revision, especially if they are just starting out with their language learning, but to have some spotty pre-knowledge.

A simple interface in the digital version makes it so easy to use for both the teachers and the students

Why the students love it

Because it's relevant

The topics, texts and listening tracks are modern, relevant, and entertaining. There are short documentaries and dramas that make class time more dynamic and exciting. And they adore the interactive videos which enable them to listen and record themselves as part of the Rob and Jenny drama (this is definitely one of the favorite parts - it's like following a TV show).

Finally, this coursebook really makes them speak! As I have mentioned, the flow of the lesson is so natural that it lets you discuss the topics between the tasks, so the students don't even feel like they are put on the spot to speak (which we all know, can be such a problem for many of them who are afraid of making mistakes), but they just do it. And that's the goal for most of them, isn't it?

Click here to get more info on English File 4th edition.

To sum up, there are no perfect coursebooks and each of them should be approached with a fair amount of critical thinking. Never forget that you are the expert and the coursebook you choose should be the tool you use, not the other way around. But the closest one to perfection is definitely the English File, 4th edition and you should check it out if you want to have a strong basis for your course.

Do you have any questions about this coursebook? Write them in the comments and I'll get back to you. Also, feel free to share your experiences with other coursebooks.