Adapting textbooks for the primary classroom : tensions between theory and practice

Abstract

Since the introduction of task-based and communicative approaches to English language learning in the late 20th century, education policies in Hong Kong, as well as teacher training institutions, have encouraged the new-generation of teachers to exercise professional knowledge on recognizing deficits entailed by textbooks and make informed adaptations to them, so that they relate better to principles of task-based, and communicative learning, and cater to the varying abilities and interests of students. This research implements a case-study approach, examining the impact of a teacher education course focusing on materials evaluation and adaptation, on how English pre-service teachers use textbooks in local primary schools across Hong Kong. The findings of this study illustrate that changes at the policy level, and new modes of pedagogy asserted by teacher-training institutions alone, are not enough in allowing teachers to bring textbook-adaptation practice to actual teaching, due to various conflicting factors in the work-context.