An analysis of the book our world through english from the perspective of the constructionist theory and the communicative approach

The present work is addressed to English teachers of public and private high schools who use the coursebook Our World Through English (OWTE) as the main didactic material for teaching the English language. This work offers an analysis of this coursebook, which is part of the New English Curriculum Reform in Ecuador, the CRADLE Project. The analysis is based on the principles of the Constructivist Theory used in education and the Communicative Approach which is used for teaching a second language. This theory and this method aid in the construction of the student s knowledge and in the practice and use of the target language. This work has the purpose of analyzing and reviewing the methodology, topics, activities, and supplementary material of coursebooks OWTE No. 1, 2 and 3. In addition, it contains surveys made to English teachers and students of different public high schools of Cuenca who give their opinions about some aspects of the coursebook, and information about how English teachers manage their classes. The analysis of the coursebook Our World Through English allows English teachers know and understand aspects of it in order to improve its use in the classroom. We, as English teachers, should know the importance that an appropriate coursebook has for teaching a second language, especially for students of high schools. However the teacher s performance is also a fundamental aspect in the classroom. So there must be a good relationship between these two elements in order to guide the students toward constructive learning.