Revisiting Primary English Teachers’ Critical Reflections on Coursebook Usage

Abstract

In Germany, where every federal state has a different educational philosophy and diverse legal circumstances, the practices of English teachers vary considerably. In Bavaria, where the present study was conducted, English only became a mandatory primary school subject in the school year 2005-2004. Because a specific training for becoming primary school English teacher was only integrated into the university curriculum after that year, the majority of current primary school English teachers have not been trained to teach this subject so they lack the methodological background. Therefore, coursebooks with detailed teaching ideas and pedagogical explanations for lesson planning become an essential part of their profession providing guidance and feeling of security. Some German scholars have noted; however, these teachers mostly devise other materials like worksheets to replace or supplement the English coursebooks (Fuchs et al., 2010). The present study aims to critically reflect on perceptions, preferences and expectations of English teachers at German primary schools concerning their coursebook usage. After presenting and discussing the research results, the paper proposes some ideas for striking a balance between teaching English with and without a coursebook. Different stakeholders can thus collect useful ideas for improvement, including teacher trainers, teachers, student teachers, school administrators, and publishers.