COURSEBOOK EVALUATION: New Headway Elementary

Course Book: Soars, L and Soars, J 2006, New Headway Elementary, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Proposed Context: ESL Elementary School Students

The New Headway Elementary course book is innovative, compelling and interactive. Based on the traditional and communicative methodologies, it offers students the opportunity to learn grammar in a structured manner while allowing students to interact with the language features during authentic-like activities. This is a comprehensive textbook that is well written, engaging, and provides exposure to authentic situations.

This book was written by professionals and published by Oxford University Press, a reputable company in the publishing sector. Since the inception of the Headway Series over 20 years ago, it has grown in popularity to become one of the top sellers in the ESL industry. Don't let this tempt you. This book is not only well organized but also superbly designed to incorporate all the English language skills. Another feature is the suggested syllabus included in the student's book that details what will be studied in each unit. It is divided into the following areas: Grammar, Vocabulary, Everyday English, Reading, Listening and Speaking. The overall intention is to direct students to build on prior knowledge that leads them to constantly develop their English skills. This is made possible through the interactive and communicative nature of each lesson where the language is more than an arbitrary skill. Illich, cited in Harmer (2007, p. 52), believed that “most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting.”

This is a complete course book that offers other resources to aid in student’s learning such as the audio CD, student workbook, workbook CD, the interactive practice CD-ROM, and the teacher’s resource book. Once again, Headway sets the bar high by providing both a teacher’s website that offers multifarious materials and an interactive student’s site that allows them to practice or play games. Learning doesn’t stop when the bell rings. These materials provide opportunities to take the learning outside the classroom.

With topics that have relevance and meaning to students, it enables them to explore the language with active participation and curiosity. Hinkel (1999) believed engaging students in the learning process not only gives students a sense of purpose but it also helps them to take control of their own language learning. Headway succeeds in making language study purposeful and meaningful and supports independent learning.


References:

Harmer, J 2007, The Practice of English Language Teaching, 4th edn, Pearson Education, London.

Hinkel, E (ed.) 1999, Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning, Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series, Michael H Long and Jack C Richards, eds, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.