I see your point that experienced teachers who want to experiment with a new approach are few and far between and probably those least likely to use any kind of textbook, so indeed we are unlikely to get the book we need soon as it is more work for the publishers for less financial return. Oh well…

I feel textbooks peaked with Inside Out and have slumped since then. I’m really starting to question the validity of basing a course on a textbook and think it is not serving students or teachers very well at all. DOS’s and book publishers seem to be the only winners.

The idea of having a whole course laid out and bound into a book seems odd when you stop to think about it. A large proportion of the material is going to be superfluous, irrelevant or sub-standard and will not be used unless there is no alternative or students/managers insist on doing everything.

I have moved towards a modular approach, finding activities/tasks that motivate students and then providing language feedback/input until diminishing returns sets in. This varies on the age/background of the students and I found Korean adults keep going with a task/activity far longer than most. Having built up resources across a wide range of topics I can then select something appropriate for the level/stage of course and run with it until the point is driven home or as far home as it can be expected to go for the time being.

Anyway – very interesting points. It’s clear practising professional teachers need a fresh approach along the lines you suggest. Sadly, I doubt the publishers will see any return if they meet this need and I foresee more rehashes of old ideas will be churned out year after year.

In discussing textbooks we mustn’t forget they are produced and marketed to make money. Not to help students learn or teachers teach. I may be cynical but still hope EFL will break out of the dark age it is now going through.