Is the Textbook Enslaving or Empowering Teachers? Insights from an Algerian Perspective

Abstract

Given that studies on how teachers use teaching materials in second and foreign-language classroom contexts are scarce, this exploratory study seeks to contribute to an under-researched area of material use by exploring teachers’ interpretation of their English textbooks and the rationale behind it. More specifically, the paper reports the findings of a small-scale study involving three secondary school teachers in Algeria who use the same textbook materials. Using a qualitative case-study design, classroom observations were undertaken and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participant teachers to explore how they use the textbook materials and why. The findings revealed that although teachers were restricted by a standard-based textbook, their flexible and creative use of the same materials was molded by their own beliefs, knowledge and analysis of learners’ profiles which all accumulated to determine how they enacted the textbook in the classroom. the paper also put forward several recommendations for different stakeholders (teachers, teacher trainers, textbook designers, and decision-makers).