Of course like every Eikaiwa and English Learning Class we use our fair share of textbooks whether they be from the listening, reading or writing variety but in order to keep our lessons fun and interesting we use a lot of other materials as well.
It`s not really what kind of teaching material you use but the fact that the students can touch and use something real that they may come across during an everyday situation like going to the supermarket with their parents or trying to tell the time from a clock on the wall or a watch on their wrist.
However the real tool that all the students want to use is the i pad or i phone which can be a really valuable device. I can`t tell you how many times I have had a student that won`t say anything in class but as soon as this tool is brought out they really lose all their inhibitions and start interacting in the classroom.
If you have a student who is having trouble getting motivated with English there are plenty of free and extremely cheap apps that you can use to gather interest. Just make sure they are using the device for education and not purely for games!