The classic ELT coursebook has been falling out of favour inwards sure circles for some time. The topics are besides bland, they can’t mayhap endure of involvement as well as relevant to all the dissimilar students they effort to cater for, their methodological approaches are besides stiff as well as don’t e'er tally amongst approaches that teachers would similar to adopt, they’re besides inflexible as well as hard to adapt.
As someone who’s worked inwards ELT publishing for nearly 20 years (although never equally a full general coursebook author), I tin watch both sides of the issue. I empathise the limitations that publishers are working inside as well as the difficulties of delivering something that industrial plant for everyone when commercial restraints need that an expensive-to-produce coursebook serial volition take to sell to the widest possible demographic. I also know from talking to teachers I encounter from roughly the globe that beyond the ELT Twitteratti, many ordinary teachers are truly quite happy amongst the condition quo. At the same fourth dimension though, I hit handle amongst many of the criticisms of coursebooks as well as I detect the current, publisher-led, writing-by-committee approach to coursebook production frustrating on all kinds of levels.
I’ve e'er found the “do away amongst coursebooks as well as allow teachers write all their ain master copy materials tailored to their students” declaration unhelpful as well as unrealistic for most teachers. Recently though, I’ve read a number of articles which lead hold a to a greater extent than constructive position, suggesting instead how coursebooks could endure improved (see Sandy Millin as well as Kyle Dugan). One proposition that I’ve seen inwards a number of places, as well as that I desire to address here, is the pick to brand materials available inwards easily editable formats therefore that teachers tin arrange them to endure to a greater extent than relevant to their students. It sounds similar a peachy idea, giving teachers (and students) the best of both worlds, but fifty-fifty leaving aside issues roughly students preferring impress books to digital or to piles of handouts, at that topographic point are a number of of import issues to consider roughly copyright as well as intellectual property.
Original texts as well as permissions:
Anyone who has ever written materials for publication volition know that if yous desire to travel authentic texts from external sources, at that topographic point are lots of hoops to jump through to obtain permission from the copyright holders to reuse them. Some sources simply point-blank refuse, others accuse considerable fees as well as most position restrictions on just how the text tin endure reused (whether it tin endure changed, shortened, adapted, etc.). That agency that making those texts available inwards a format that could endure edited past times teachers is mostly simply non possible from a legal perspective. The best that mightiness endure viable inwards such a context would endure to brand the master copy text available inwards an uneditable form, say, equally a PDF, perhaps amongst the accompanying activities inwards a carve upwards Word document that could endure edited. There are permissions issues amongst photos as well as artwork too, therefore those would in all probability take to endure stripped out of whatever editable versions.
Intellectual holding as well as reputation:
One argue why many copyright holders won’t allow their piece of work to endure used as well as adapted inwards whatever one-time way is because their master copy intent inwards writing the text as well as the message they intended to select could besides easily acquire distorted, misrepresenting their ideas inwards a way that they wouldn’t desire to position their shout to. Imagine you’re a political journalist who’s carefully constructed a slice to position across a detail declaration as well as point-of-view, therefore someone comes along as well as chops it close inwards such a way equally to immature adult woman the point, or worse still, halt upwards suggesting an contrary view, but amongst your shout notwithstanding attached.
Arguably, ELT writers are slightly less precious when it comes to presenting their personal views inwards a grammer or vocab activity, but at that topographic point is nonetheless, a goodness bargain of professional person expertise as well as regulation that goes into writing ELT materials. I often object to changes suggested past times editors to activities or fifty-fifty private items that I experience would alter the nature of the action as well as no longer order the intended language-learning objective. Other times, I’ve included something to brand the fabric to a greater extent than inclusive, for example, as well as no, I don’t desire all my woman someone scientists swapped for men who are easier to detect stock photos of! When materials transcend out into the globe amongst my shout attached, I desire to experience that fifty-fifty if a few compromises were made along the way, I’m notwithstanding essentially happy amongst the content.
I fully hold back teachers to arrange the materials I write - to skip activities, to write upwards extra questions on the board or fifty-fifty to brand a handout amongst option activities to continue amongst a reading or listening text inwards the book. It would endure a chip foreign if they didn’t arrange to some extent because they know their didactics context as well as their students as well as I don’t. Generally though, it notwithstanding remains clear to the students, or to whoever else mightiness watch the resulting hybrid materials (parents, colleagues, etc.), who wrote what. So if those adaptations comprise linguistic communication errors or changes that I wouldn’t handle amongst or that completely immature adult woman the betoken I was trying to acquire across to students, therefore that doesn’t reverberate on me or harm my professional person reputation or that of the publisher. If those materials were fully editable, therefore the business betwixt my intellectual holding as well as whatever local additions (be they bright or error-strewn) would acquire blurred as well as versions of the fabric could start circulating that bore my name, but which I would never lead hold written myself. For me, that’s problematic.
Of course, nosotros could simply take away authors’ names from classroom materials. Much of the piece of work I hit already goes largely uncredited apart from inwards tiny impress on the acknowledgements page, therefore I don’t truly lead hold a occupation amongst that (although I shout back it somewhat lessens the incentive for authors to hit peachy content). But that notwithstanding doesn’t solve the occupation of publishers (or ‘content providers’, if yous will) establishing as well as maintaining their reputation, non to get upwards avoiding piracy … but that’s maybe a topic for some other twenty-four sixty minutes menstruation …
In short, I shout back editable ELT materials mightiness endure possible inwards some form, but they would lead hold to endure constructed inwards such a way that sure sections of the fabric could non endure changed as well as also therefore that whatever changes that were made were clearly attributed. It’s an interesting challenge that I don’t shout back is insurmountable, but it’s sure as shooting non equally straightforward equally it mightiness at start seem.
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