Corpora and coursebooks: destined to be strangers forever?

Corpus linguistics has had a powerful influence on ELT teaching materials, such as dictionaries, and, more recently, reference grammars. However, its influence on ELT coursebooks has been less profound. In this paper, I review the case for the use of corpora in coursebook production, I discuss the use of corpora from a publishing perspective, and I present the results of a questionnaire study of current coursebook authors on their opinions on, and experiences of, the use of corpora. The results of the survey suggest that while some coursebook authors already do make use of corpora in their writing, many do not; this is due, primarily, to perceptions of a lack of available corpora and lack of time in writing schedules.