Draft to Desk: Inside the ELT Editorial Process

Sanjhee Giachandani is an English language curriculum designer and editor. She holds a Master’s degree in English from Lady Shri Ram College for Women,University of Delhi, and a CELTA from the University of Cambridge. She has authored two series– Grammar Sparkle (Grades 1-8) and Let’s Learn to Listen and Speak (Grade 4) and is currently writing her next.

ELT (English Language Teaching) editors play a vital role in shaping the quality and effectiveness of language learning materials. Their work ensures that educational resources align with current pedagogical standards and meet the varied needs of learners across contexts. Through a careful review process, editors evaluate whether materials support clear learning outcomes, promote inclusivity, and reflect best practices in language instruction.

Instructional design for ELT coursebooks

A typical chapter in an ELT coursebook has all of the following sections in the same or similar chronological order but with different names:

a. Warm up—This section includes a small fun activity that is thematically linked to the chapter. The purpose of this activity is to activate the schema and to orient the students’ thinking in the direction of the chapter.

b. Listening—All ELT books would have listening exercises as they are part of overall linguistic proficiency. Most books include age-appropriate dialogues (conversations, radio interviews, discussions, debates, etc.) or monologues (airport/railway station announcements, podcasts, presentations, etc.) for students to listen to and solve a while-listening exercise such as an MCQ (Multiple-choice question), or a gap-fill. The listening scripts could be located either at the back of the book or in the teacher’s manual.

c. Reading—This section consists of the story or poem in question. It has all difficult vocabulary items highlighted and glossed as footnotes or after the text for reference. There may also be some short in-text questions to test comprehension while reading. Sometimes, reading texts are followed by a short “About the Author” section, which supplies information about the author.

d. Vocabulary—Students engage with glossed words as well as sight words by attempting short exercises in this section.

e. Comprehension—This includes objective as well as subjective questions linked to the text.

f. Pronunciation—This section picks up sounds that the students have heard in the story, makes them practise those sounds in isolation, and then gives exercises on the target sound.

g. Grammar—A good ELT book highlights the target language in the chapter and begins this section by emphasising it. It follows the EEE approach— explanations, followed by examples, and then guided and unguided exercises for the students to attempt to cement their understanding of the concepts.

h. Writing—This section encompasses one of the writing skills that is appropriate for the chapter and is included in the syllabus. First, there is an explanation of the skill, then there is usually a sample or a template, and this is followed by practice exercises. There would also be scaffolding in the form of clues, prompts, and sentence starters with some questions meant to support the students in their writing.

i. Speaking—This section makes students talk among themselves (to the whole class or in groups or pairs) using guidelines, sentence starters, and templates. Sample texts are also provided sometimes, or there is a cross-reference to the listening section from where the students can pick the target language.

j. Art Integration / Project Work—These sections are a recent addition following the guidelines of the NEP (National Education Policy). Here students could be made to draw, make a piece of art, or do something outside of school.

The review workflow

Let us assume that an educator needs to review an ELT main coursebook. Here is a sequence that could be followed:

1. Give the chapter a free read. At this stage, the general language level should be carefully checked ensuring that the vocabulary/structures used align with that prearranged for the target grade.
2. Ask some initial questions: “What should the target learners be able to do in and with the target language?” or “What knowledge about language and what guidance for using language appropriately for different purposes in various situations are offered in the materials?”
3. Check the rubrics carefully and decide if learners have all the information required to proceed with a particular task. If anything is amiss, determine the kind of support you would need to provide them as an educator.
4. Set your expectations about whether the materials enable or limit your freedom as an educator and the strategies you want to use to teach the language.
5. Also, consider if the selection of texts meets the learners’ interests. Texts must provide all learners with a fair chance to develop their language knowledge and capabilities.

By exploring the structure of an ELT book, editors can appreciate how each component contributes to language learning can make informed choices that significantly enhance the learning experience and empower students to master the English language.