The Global ELT coursebook: A case of Cinderella's slipper?

English language teaching (ELT) publishing as we know it today has a long and lucrative history, dating, according to Rix (2008), from the Longman publication of Michael West's New Method Readers in 1926, present day, where annual turnover runs around US$194 billion (Jordan & Gray, 2019). Some sector's best-sellers, such Oxford University Press's Headway series (Soars Soars), have sold over 70 million copies (Ożóg, 2018) with OUP's File (Latham-Koenig, Oxenden, Lambert) selling China alone. Generally speaking, is taken for granted that commercial publications educational sector are based on sound, accepted pedagogical principles. Early (from 1950s onwards) naturally reflected practices were thought promote learning at time – repetition, drills sentence-level grammar exercises. As our understanding developed, this Structural approach gave way Communicative one, reflecting 1970s preoccupation importance communicative competence, influenced by theorists Hymes (e.g. 1972) Halliday 1975). This remains predominant one (in West least) 50 years later. It represents, remarkably perhaps, last applied linguistics substantially approach, or least, had global reach enduring influence. Since then, findings fields second (L2) acquisition, which should fed into approaches hence coursebooks, been slow do so any systematic significant way. Where they have, theory ‘translates’ pedagogy coursebook thence classroom, can be questionable. In parallel problem socio-cultural standpoint materials an international English, issuing particular geographic heartland, viz. England. L2 acquisition research, developments sociolinguistic, socio-political realised coursebooks only rather superficial multi-cultural gloss. The advent ‘global’ conceived 1990s, multiple iterations, attempting capture appeal, still not resolved conundrum materials, is, combination content constitute cultural artefacts, imbued values ideologies. All all, Timmis, Mukundan, Alkhaldi laconically observe: ‘for commonplace objects, [coursebooks] aroused surprising degree controversy’ (2009, p. 11). These chief areas contention I will develop article. Opposing these issues, acknowledged remain default resource, teachers learners world-wide need, want value them ready-made materials.