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A Study of Teachers’ Perceptions toward Using English

Textbooks: A Case Study of 10th Grade English Teachers in
Maha Sarakham Province
Ladaporn Srakang and Anchalee Jansem, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand

Abstract: This study intended to explore how teachers perceived the use of English
textbooks, including problems teachers raised about using them. The participants consisted of
twelve 10th Grade Thai teachers of English in Maha Sarakham Province, selected by
convenience sampling. Through questionnaires, classroom observations and semi-structured
interviews, it was found that the pro-textbook teachers believed that without textbooks
teaching cannot be conducted effectively. Some of them revealed that textbooks should go
hand in hand with supplementary teaching materials to serve learners’ needs. On the contrary,
the anti-textbook teachers believed that the use of English textbooks was wasting time. The
teachers also reflected on direct and indirect problems which dramatically affected the use of
English textbooks.

Keywords: Teachers’ perceptions, English textbooks, English teachers

1. Introduction
Teachers’ perceptions play a crucial role in educational perspectives. Educators have
underlined a position which teachers’ perceptions hold in education and agreed that teachers’
perceptions influence teachers’ practice, judgment and decision making (Barcelos, 2000;
Pederson, 2003; Yu, 1986). Additionally, teachers are a key factor and mostly engaged in
learning and teaching; therefore, it is believed that investigating teachers’ perceptions will
uncover salient shortcoming occurring in educational settings which will be valuable
contribution to teachers’ educational development. With this notion, there have been plenty
of research studies concerning teachers’ perceptions in ELT professionals. However, it has
been noticed that there has been little explicit examination focusing on teachers’ perceptions
toward the use of English textbooks. Therefore, the researchers were interested in exploring
teachers’ perceptions toward using English textbooks and identify problems teachers raised
about using English textbooks.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Role of Textbooks in EFL Classrooms
It has been widely accepted that textbooks play an essential role in language classrooms
(Richards, 2001). However, there has been amount of debate on the actual role of textbooks
in EFL settings due to the potential and limitations of using them. Hutchinson and Torres
(1994) believe that the prominence of textbooks appear so expansive that it is almost a
universal element in ELT classrooms. They further claim that any teaching and learning
situation will not be complete unless it has its relevant textbooks. Ur (1998) points out that
textbooks provide explicit framework which clues teachers and learners in what they have
done and what will be done. Moreover, she reports that textbooks are the cheapest tool
compared to other materials such as learning kits, photocopied worksheets or computer
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software. O’Neil (1982), Sheldon (1988) and Ur (1998) agree that textbooks are efficient
teaching materials which save both time and money. They clarify that textbooks can reduce
time in material preparations so teachers can devote more time to teaching instead of
spending time with creating in-house materials. In addition, textbooks are effective sources
for teachers and learners because they are the products of experienced researchers and
developers (Harmer, 2001).

Many researchers, on the other hand, emphasize the limitations of textbooks. Ur (1998)
mentions that textbooks are inadequate for supplying every learner’s needs. Moreover, topics
in textbooks are irreverent or uninteresting to actual classes which possibly cause learners
boredom and paucity of motivation. Textbooks may hinder a teacher’s initiative and
creativity because of its set structure and sequence. Besides, Richards (2001) states that
textbooks may not suit learners’ needs because they are often written for global markets.
Sheldon (1998) adds that textbooks may not be worth money as they are ‘seen as poor
compromises between what is educationally desirable on the one hand and financially viable
on the other’.

In Malaysia, Chandran (2003) conducted a research with EFL teachers in order to investigate
their perceptions of using prescribed textbooks. The results of her study indicated that
teachers preferred using commercial materials because the prescribed textbooks could not
provide what learners’ needs. Similarly, Richards and Mahoney (1996) conducted a survey
intended to examine teachers’ beliefs and practices in using textbooks in secondary schools in
Hong Kong. They found that teachers used different textbooks and supplementary work in
their daily teaching. The findings also remarked that teachers believed that textbooks could
assist them to teach English effectively. Additionally, Muhamad (2009) investigated how
English teachers in Indonesia used and applied textbooks in their classrooms. The finding
revealed that teachers concluded that textbooks could not serve teachers’ and learners’ needs
because they lack of content appropriateness.

2.2 Significance of Teachers’ Perceptions

In the field of ELT professionals, significant roles of teachers’ perceptions have been
highlighted. Barcelos (2000) notes that language teachers’ perceptions influence what
language teachers do in the classrooms. Similarly, Yu (1986) mentions that teachers’
perceptions influence what teachers do both inside and outside the classrooms. Therefore,
teachers must be aware of what they perceive and believe when conducting their daily
teaching. This means that teachers’ perceptions are the basis for teacher to form judgment or
make decisions. In addition, teachers’ perceptions result in how teachers deal with
shortcomings in their teaching situations (Moloi, 2009). Jia (2004) states in her study that
some researchers believed that as behavior is led by thought, exploring teachers’ perceptions
and beliefs help gain deeper understanding of teachers’ behaviors in classrooms and provide
guidance for enhancing teachers’ practices. In consequence, teachers’ perceptions have
played a crucial role in teaching and learning processes due to the fact that they not only
influence teachers’ actions and teachers’ decision making but also provide significant insight
into aspects of education.

3. Research Methodology
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The main purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions toward using English
textbooks and the problems raised by teachers about using them. To achieve this purpose, a
mixed method research with greater emphasis on qualitative approach was employed.

3.1 Participants
This research study was conducted with twelve 10th Grade Thai teachers of English recruited
through convenience sampling to form a case which was the focus of this study. The
participants were from six extra-large government schools supervised by the Secondary
Educational Service Area Office 26, Maha Sarakham Province. They were recruited on the
basis of the convenient accessibility and proximity to the researchers.

3.2 Instrumentation
Questionnaire
The questionnaire was a primary source to find teachers’ perceptions. It aimed to elicit an
overview of teachers’ perceptions toward English textbooks. This questionnaire was adapted
and developed from Ur’s criteria for coursebook assessment (1998) and Wongkaew’s
questionnaire (2009). It consisted of two parts which allowed teachers to share their beliefs,
attitudes, and opinions that reflected their perceptions. The first part of the questionnaire
tended to gain background information of teachers. The latter part included thirty five items
aimed at eliciting teachers’ perceptions toward English textbooks. A five-Likert scale,
ranging from 1-5 was employed to reflect teachers’ level of agreement with a list of
statement.

Classroom observation
The classroom observation was applied in order to see how teachers used English textbooks
in the actual classrooms. The data gained from observations provided more insight into
teachers’ perceptions. The researchers used classroom observation protocol as a guide to
observe classrooms. This protocol included the aspects derived from the purposes of this
study and teachers’ responses from the questionnaire.

Semi-Structured Interview
The semi-structured interview was employed to seek further information. The data obtained
from interviews provided deeper answers and crossed check accuracy of the observational
data. All open-ended questions were derived from aforementioned literature review and the
purposes of the study. The developed questions aimed at gaining greater depth data about
teachers’ perceptions toward English textbooks.

3.3 Data Collection

The data was gathered during the second semester of the 2012 academic year. Firstly, the
twelve teachers were required to complete questionnaires to reveal their perceptions of
English textbooks they used. After teachers had complete questionnaires, the classroom
observation was carried out three times with each of them. The role of researchers was non-
participant observers because the researchers did not involve in the teaching and learning
processes. The classroom observation protocol was used as a tool to gather data as detailed
and concrete as possible. The use of video recording of classes was also applied to provide a
more explicit and reliable record of what happened in each classroom. Finally, the semi-
structured interview was conducted in order to get more insightful answers. Each teacher was
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individually interviewed with open-ended questions in a different time. The languages used
in the interviews were both Thai and English. Each interview took approximately 30-45
minutes depending on teachers’ answers. The whole interview was recorded and transcribed
for data interpretation and analysis.

3.4 Data Analysis

The data obtained from questionnaires was quantitatively analyzed in order to seek overall
perceptions of 10th Grade Thai teachers of English toward English textbooks. The responses
from questionnaires were analyzed by using mean and standard deviation. On the other hand,
the data gained from classroom observations and interviews were qualitatively analyzed
based on Merriam (2009). The transcripts from interviews and the written data from
observation protocols were put into categories. Then each category was given names and
interpreted.

4. Results
4.1 Analysis of Quantitative Data: Questionnaire

Table 1. Teachers’ Perceptions towards English Textbooks

Level of
Statements S.D. Ranking
Agreement
Evaluation on Textbook
1. The approach recommended in the textbook is educationally
4 0 Agree 4
and socially acceptable to the target community.
2. The objectives are explicitly laid out in an introduction and
3.92 0.90 Agree 5
implemented in the textbook.
3. The layout and design is attractive and easy to read. 4 0.85 Agree 4
4. The instructions are clearly stated. 4.25 0.62 Agree 2
5. The topics and tasks are interesting and motivating. 4 0.60 Agree 4
6. There is a variety of topics and tasks provided for different
3.67 0.65 Agree 8
learner levels, learning styles and interests.
7. The content is clearly organized and graded (sequenced by
3.83 1.03 Agree 6
difficulty).
8. The subjects and content are relevant to learners’ needs. 3.58 0.66 Agree 9
9. The subjects and contents are relevant to the school
3.83 0.71 Agree 6
curriculum.
10. The culture presented in the textbook is appropriate for Thai
3.58 0.99 Agree 9
context.
11. There are periodic review and test sections provided. 3.83 1.03 Agree 6
12. There is plenty of authentic language. 3.33 0.65 Neutral 12
13. There is an appropriate balance of the four language skills. 3.50 1 Agree 10
14. Pronunciation explanation and practice are suitably
3 1.04 Neutral 15
presented.
15. Vocabulary explanation and practice are clearly presented. 3.17 0.83 Neutral 14
16. Grammar presentation and practice are clearly presented. 3.42 1.16 Neutral 11
17. The textbook provides adequate activities and practice. 3.33 1.07 Neutral 12
18. The textbook encourages learners to develop their own
learning strategies and to become independent in their 2.92 1.16 Neutral 16
learning.
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19. The textbook provides adequate guidance for the teacher; not
3.17 1.11 Neutral 14
too heavy preparation load.
20. The textbook is accompanied by good audio cassettes, CDs,
4.42 0.66 Agree 1
Supplementary materials and Teachers’ Guide.
21. The textbook is readily available locally. 3.25 0.96 Neutral 13
22. The price of the textbook is reasonable. 3.58 0.66 Neutral 9
Roles of textbook
23. The textbook serves as a syllabus. 3.25 0.75 Neutral 13
24. The textbook helps planning daily instruction. 3.75 0.86 Neutral 7
25. The textbook serves as a source of assessment items. 3.42 0.99 Neutral 11
26. The textbook serves as a source of homework. 3.42 0.90 Neutral 11
27. The textbook serves as an essential source for teacher. 3.75 0.75 Neutral 7
28. The textbook serves as an essential source for leaners. 3.75 0.86 Neutral 7
29. The textbook helps teachers to teach English effectively. 3.58 0.90 Neutral 9
Teachers’ perceptions toward textbook
30. I follow the sequences of contents provided in textbook. 3.42 0.79 Neutral 11
31. I teach exclusively from the textbook. 3.75 0.86 Neutral 7
32. I rely on the textbook when teaching. 2.42 0.66 Disagree 17
33. I use the textbook as the only source for teaching materials. Strongly
1.67 0.49 18
Disagree
34. I fully understand the content presented in the textbook. 4.17 0.57 Agree 3
35. I fully understand cultural issues presented in the textbooks. 3.75 0.75 Neutral 7
Total 3.53 0.81 Neutral

As shown in Table 1, the overall mean and standard deviation of teachers’ responses to the
statements. The first five ranks of teachers’ perceptions were discussed as follows. The first
rank of the questionnaire indicates that teachers clearly perceived that textbooks provided
good supplementary materials such as audio cassettes, CDs and Teachers’ Guide. The second
rank shows that teachers considered that instructions included in the textbooks were clear.
The issue about understanding the content presented in the textbooks teachers used was in the
third rank. The results of the questionnaires further indicate that the approach presented in
textbooks was acceptable in terms of education and social to their school settings. Moreover,
teachers also agreed that layouts and design of the textbooks were attractive and the topics
and tasks provided were interesting and motivating. These results fell in the fourth rank.
Lastly, the fifth rank of teachers’ perceptions demonstrates that textbooks they used had clear
objectives stated in every section in the textbooks.

4.2 Analysis of Qualitative Data: Classroom Observation and Semi-Structured

Interview

A qualitative analysis were conducted to clarify the data from the questionnaire, to gain
insight into teachers’ perceptions of using English textbooks and to identify problems
teachers raised about using English textbooks. Through 36-hour classroom observations and
semi-structured interviews, the findings were presented as follows.

Teachers’ perceptions toward using English textbooks

The pro-textbook views

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The interview data indicated that teachers regarded textbooks as an instructional framework
because textbooks assisted them when preparing lessons. Additionally, they considered
textbooks as guideline of their courses since textbooks illustrated what they have done and
what will be done in each lesson. Textbooks also served as an idea bank for them about how
lessons can be delivered. Supported by observational data, the pro-textbook teachers always
used textbooks in every phase of teaching and learning. They further stated that textbooks
were effective teaching materials which saved both time and money. Textbooks helped save
teachers’ time in teaching preparation because textbooks provided detailed activities and
exercises for them. Teachers indicated that they were assigned to undertake extra duties other
than their daily instructions. Consequently, using textbooks was the best way which reduced
teachers’ workloads. Furthermore, teachers revealed that textbooks were worth their costs
when compared to other teaching and learning materials. Furthermore, teachers pointed out
that textbooks were reliable and effective teaching materials because they have been tried,
tested and developed by experts and language specialists. In light of this, they felt confident
to use textbooks as their source of teaching. It could be seen from observational data that the
pro-textbook teachers mainly followed textbooks’ descriptions and gave explanations
according to what textbooks provided. However, some pro-textbook teachers clarified that
what textbooks provided was good but it was not enough for their learners at some points.
Some teachers explained that they sometimes used other teaching materials to supplement
their teaching. Nevertheless, they said that their teaching would be very difficult without
textbooks and they preferred using textbooks to other teaching materials.

The anti-textbook views

Teachers revealed that textbooks were inadequate to suite learners’ needs. Since teachers
strongly believed that the educational system in Thailand was still an exam-oriented system,
the goal of Thai learners in learning English was to pass a university entrance exam.
However, what textbooks provided was not enough to prepare learners to pass this type of
exam. Teachers expressed that textbooks contained little explanation, inadequate language
items or examples. It was obviously observed from the classrooms that teachers used
supplementary worksheets which included detailed grammar explanations and plenty of
language items and extra exercises to maximize learners’ language input. Those worksheets
consisted of examples of a university entrance exam paper or that from previous years.
Additionally, teachers indicated that the subject and content of the textbooks was partially
relevant to their learners’ needs. As previously stated, learners need what tends to be covered
in a university entrance exam paper so what includes in the textbooks must be able to expose
learners to a university examination-type questions. As observed from their lessons, some
teachers employed their own styles of presentation and rarely followed textbooks
descriptions. They also added additional explanations and language input as much as they
could. Moreover, teachers said that topics provided in the textbooks did not match learners’
interests. Some of the topics were irrelevant or uninteresting to their classes. Teachers who
had anti-textbook views mentioned that some topics were too far beyond learners’
proficiency. In addition, due to the different cultural settings, topics dealt with cultural
information of native countries made learners uncomfortable to study. Some teachers finally
concluded that they preferred using teacher-made materials to commercial textbooks.

Problems about using English textbooks

Direct problems
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Direct problems refer to problems occurring due to the limitations of textbooks. Stated in the
interviews, teachers mentioned that textbooks failed to serve learners’ needs. They noted that
textbooks are generally produced according to textbook writers and textbook developers’
desire to meet what the Ministry of Education prescribed. Nonetheless, what presented in the
textbooks tended to lack focused points. Teachers emphasized that textbooks available in the
market nowadays cannot serve learners’ needs. This means that while a major need of Thai
learners of English was to pass a university entrance exam, textbooks they used could not
expose learners to this type of exam. Teachers mentioned that textbooks did not give what
learners need at all.

Indirect problems
Indirect problems refer to problems occurring due to factors other than textbooks themselves.
Teachers revealed that most of their learners had poor English language proficiency. This was
a serious hindrance to utilizing textbooks effectively. Furthermore, teachers asserted that
having large classes affected the use of English textbooks. They expressed that activities
focusing on speaking practice which assigned learners to have pair work and group work
were not suitable for large classes because every learner could not be monitored. It was found
from classroom observations that teachers rarely assigned learners to do pair work or group
work during the lessons even though these were parts of the activities in the textbooks they
used. Instead, teachers randomly asked learners to share answers or worked together as a
whole class. Teachers also addressed that the change of the Basic Education Core Curriculum
caused problem to them about using textbooks. As time allotment for core English of 10th
Grade was reduced, teachers had to cover learning objectives in a short period of time. The
observational data shows that teachers often merged or rearranged the sequences of the
textbooks so that they could wrap up faster.

5. Discussion
Teachers’ perceptions toward using English textbooks
It has been noticed that many researchers proposed the pro-textbook and anti-textbook views
in ELT settings. The pro-textbook views argue for the potential and necessity of textbooks
while the anti-textbook views present the limitations of textbooks. Hutchinson and Torres
(1994) note that textbooks are seen as universal element in language classroom. They further
clarify that without textbooks teaching and learning situation will be incomplete. Ur (1998)
reports that textbooks provide explicit framework which lets teacher and learners know what
they have already done and what is coming next. She further mentions that textbooks are the
cheapest teaching materials compared to other types of instructional materials and require
less preparation time. In addition, Harmer (2001) believes that textbooks are products of
research which have been developed through years so textbooks can be effective sources for
teachers and learners. In these aspects, the finding which reveals that the pro-textbook
teachers regarded textbooks as instructional frameworks, guidelines and sources of direction
are consistent with the notions proposed by researchers mentioned above. The fact revealed
by teachers that textbooks are effective teaching materials which save teachers’ time and
money corresponds to what O’Neil (1982), Sheldon (1988) and Ur (1998) mentioned.
Moreover, as indicated by the findings, teachers believed that textbooks are approved
learning materials so they felt assured that goal and learning standards would be covered. In
this sense, it concurs to Harmer (2001)’s discussion. To this point, it can be inferred that the
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pro-textbook teacher believes that without textbooks teaching cannot be conducted

effectively.

Even though researchers agree that textbooks have extensive advantages, disadvantages and
limitations of textbooks are obviously noted. Ur (1998) points out that textbooks are not
adequate to suite every learner. She further states that topics provided in textbooks are not
relevant or interesting to learners’ interests. Similarly, Sheldon (1998) and Richards (2001)
add that textbooks are generally written and developed based on textbook writers and
developer for worldwide markets. As a result, there has been a mismatch between what
textbooks writers provide and what is needed in actual settings. Richards (2001) explains that
those involved in textbook preparation are not involved in conduction research in language
learning and teaching. The finding which reveals that teachers complained that textbooks
failed to serve what learners’ needs is consistent with what Ur (1998), Sheldon (1998) and
Richards (2001) state. Furthermore, what teachers mentioned about the irrelevance of subject,
content and topics and students’ interests and proficiency is in line with what Ur (1998),
Richards (2001) and Sheldon (1998) reveal. In addition, this finding is similar to the result of
a research study conducted by Muhamad (2009) which concluded that teachers found
textbooks not be able to serve learners’ needs as they lack content appropriateness. In this
study, the anti-textbooks teachers concluded that using textbooks was wasting time.

Interestingly, a more critical finding shows that some pro-textbook teachers stated that
supplementary materials were needed in order to cater language input which their learners
needed. Teachers deemed that textbooks should go hand in hand with supplementary teaching
materials to serve learners’ needs. In this sense, this study shares finding with that of
Richards and Mahoney’s (1996) on investigating how ESL teachers used textbooks in Hong
Kong. Their finding presented that teachers used different textbooks in their teaching and
learning processes. However, these teachers insisted that they preferred using textbooks to
other teaching materials and they rarely used supplementary materials.

Problems about using English textbooks

In light of anti-textbook views, using English textbooks potentially cause some problems. In
this study, the teachers raised issue about inadequacy of language input for a university
entrance exam. This result is consistent with what Chandran (2003) found in her study
evaluating English textbooks used in Malaysia context. Her study showed that teachers did
not use the prescribed textbooks because the textbooks did not expose their learners to
examination-type questions. The finding of this study also revealed problems which hindered
teachers from utilizing textbooks effectively. Teachers pointed out that level of learners’
language proficiency did not match with level of language input in the textbooks. Moreover,
having large classes was another possible problem in using textbooks. These findings are
supported by Richards (2001), Ur (1998) and Sheldon (1998)’s views. They assert that
textbooks cannot meet the varied needs of learners and language classes around the world.

6. Conclusion
The present study intended to explore teachers’ perceptions toward using English textbooks
and seek problems raised by teachers. The findings of this study indicated that the
perceptions of teachers about using English textbooks could be seen as follows. The former
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believed that textbooks were essential and teaching cannot be conducted effectively without
the use of textbooks. Some of them also revealed that textbooks should go hand in hand with
supplementary teaching materials to serve learners’ needs. The latter, on the other hand,
believed that the use of English textbooks was wasting time. They preferred teacher-made
materials to commercial textbooks. The results of this study further revealed that problems
about using English textbooks were from textbooks themselves, learners’ language
proficiency, large classes and time constraint.

Acknowledgements
This research study was partly funded by the Graduate School, Srinakharinwirot University,
Thailand.

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