“Coursebook or No Coursebook”? A False Dilemma

Abstract

The outdated debate over whether an EFL coursebook is necessary or not seems as relevant as ever since it is by no means a self-evident truth to every EFL educator. This paper argues that among the range of factors affecting the assessment of a given textbook is the teacher’s promptness to promote closer collaboration with students through appropriate means. More specifically, a pre-use textbook evaluation through the compilation of an appropriate checklist was put to the test with the aim of checking the serviceability of the new coursebook for the first grade of Greek General Lyceum. The case of an EFL teacher who tried to predict the impact of a textbook on her specific teaching context indicated that the expectation of student inputs to the implementation of learning activities (e.g., participation in activities using technology) was valued as a key determinant in setting priorities for in-use textbook evaluation.