Teachers to play part in textbooks

Brian Tomlinson, founder and chairman of the Materials Development Association, offered an example from Turkey, where the new course book for the whole country was entirely written by teachers instead of academic experts.

The teachers were selected to represent different regions. Some were young and enthusiastic, and others were experienced, Tomlinson noted, each with different expertise in similar disciplines, like music and drama.

"The textbook was very well-received and popular because it was much more relevant to the students' needs. They even asked students what interested them and they gave intelligent answers," he said.

Tomlinson said a basic principle for teachers to practice materials development in their everyday work is to localize the materials in the textbook to make them best suit and serve the learners.

"I've written many textbooks. I can only vary examples but not localize them - which is something teachers can do," he said.

Tomlinson raised the example of a text about weddings in India. He said in a Chinese school, teachers can first let students discuss weddings in China, and then read the text and find similarities and differences. Then the teacher can ask students to write a story about weddings in China, in order to localize the materials.

Shu said the target for English teaching materials developers in Shanghai, one of the most vibrant cities in the country, is to design textbooks that not only benefit local students but also learners and teachers in other countries and regions.

"English-language teaching in Shanghai is quite advanced, even from an international perspective, and we have our own experience and advantages," Shu said.

Tomlinson reminded education authorities that they do not have to be obsessed with teaching a standard variety of the language. Instead, what matters is the understanding with which learners are able to communicate with speakers of English from other countries.

"At this moment, all over the world, there are millions of interactions of English communication taking place between nonnative speakers and other nonnative speakers of different countries," he said.