Guidance-providers and routine-enhancers, textbooks might be both beneficial and pernicious. Learners, but teachers equally, could rely too much on the reassuring gravitation pull of the books regarding defined objectives and expected outcomes of the course, especially as far as the topics and vocabulary are concerned. Understandably, the result is that both students and the teacher know what subjects and language areas will be covered during the term, the educational orbit being precisely delineated with the test docks clearly in view. The course objectives, however, might be fulfilled by other means complementary to those offered by the textbook, which brings both the element of surprise and added value for the learners’ appreciation of the learning process. This contribution concerns implementation of various tools and strategies to which a teacher might resort in an effort to take some distance from the coursebook and raise awareness of learners’ autonomy in the fields of vocabulary learning, learning attitude and learning strategies. The concept of business news activities, as well as the use of ICT tools such as Quizlet and Edmodo, will be introduced and described. Finally, a brief evaluation of the procedures – both from the teacher’s and learners’ points of view – will be offered in view of outlining their possible future modifications.