Showing posts with label Active English Discussion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Active English Discussion. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2012
ESL Textbook Reviews
Check out one of my other sites: ESL Textbook Reviews. It's just updated with a couple new additions.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Review: Active English Discussion
I recently used this book by Andrew Finch for the aviation class that I previously talked about, and I've also used it for a more intensive conversation class that met 4 times/week over the course of a semester. I've used other books in the series for kids classes as well.
I think the book is okay, but not great and I'll probably not use it again, if I have a choice about it. I'll review some things I like and some things I don't like:
Like:
1. It's Korea-based, which makes for more interesting topics of interest to my students.
2. There are a variety of activities to do.
Don't like:
1. The readings are way too long for a discussion book. You could spend a whole 50 minute class on the reading, and never get into the discussion. You could actually use the readings for a reading comprehension class.
2. A lot of the topics are old-news. Family, school life, etc have all been covered by every basic textbook the students have previously studied.
3. For a discussion class, I like short, concise units. Like 2 pages. This book used about 8 pages/unit. It's almost impossible to cover it one class, but to continue the topic into the next class is kind of weird too. Just awkward.
I think the book is okay, but not great and I'll probably not use it again, if I have a choice about it. I'll review some things I like and some things I don't like:
Like:
1. It's Korea-based, which makes for more interesting topics of interest to my students.
2. There are a variety of activities to do.
Don't like:
1. The readings are way too long for a discussion book. You could spend a whole 50 minute class on the reading, and never get into the discussion. You could actually use the readings for a reading comprehension class.
2. A lot of the topics are old-news. Family, school life, etc have all been covered by every basic textbook the students have previously studied.
3. For a discussion class, I like short, concise units. Like 2 pages. This book used about 8 pages/unit. It's almost impossible to cover it one class, but to continue the topic into the next class is kind of weird too. Just awkward.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Textbook Selection
I'm thoroughly convinced that textbook selection can make or break a class. While an excellent teacher can overcome a bad textbook, or just plain not use it and do their own thing, in some situations there is nothing that can be done.
In the kids program that I teach in, most of the students are fluent (ish) and are quite articulate, even in their writing. But the textbooks we're using are ESL textbooks, designed for adults. Do dating and Bollywood movies have any relevance for a 10 year old kid in Korea? NO! By way of example, I used the exact same textbook for my conversational uni class last year that the elementary kids are using now. And it went over well with the uni students so just imagine how much elementary kids like it! And so I wonder why we're not using textbooks that are designed for native speaker kids in the USA, Canada or England. Maybe at two or three grade levels below where they're actually at in Korean school to account for the second language factor.
And the thing is, that the teachers are getting hassled by the power that be to teach exactly what is written on the syllabus. In some cases, using 3 different inappropriate books in a 45 minute class. I'm frustrated. And powerless. And thinking that this semester might be the end of teaching in this program. The money is not worth the stress of trying to make something interesting, engaging and fun out of something totally inappropriate.
In the kids program that I teach in, most of the students are fluent (ish) and are quite articulate, even in their writing. But the textbooks we're using are ESL textbooks, designed for adults. Do dating and Bollywood movies have any relevance for a 10 year old kid in Korea? NO! By way of example, I used the exact same textbook for my conversational uni class last year that the elementary kids are using now. And it went over well with the uni students so just imagine how much elementary kids like it! And so I wonder why we're not using textbooks that are designed for native speaker kids in the USA, Canada or England. Maybe at two or three grade levels below where they're actually at in Korean school to account for the second language factor.
And the thing is, that the teachers are getting hassled by the power that be to teach exactly what is written on the syllabus. In some cases, using 3 different inappropriate books in a 45 minute class. I'm frustrated. And powerless. And thinking that this semester might be the end of teaching in this program. The money is not worth the stress of trying to make something interesting, engaging and fun out of something totally inappropriate.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Book Review: Active English Discussion
The Active English Discussion series is put out by Pearson Longman, authored by Andrew Finch. He's an expat living in Korea, and the books are definitely geared toward the Korean market. In fact, they wouldn't make a lot of sense to those outside.
I've been using levels 1 and 2 for some classes, middle school students and an advanced university conversation class. They have been amazing for both groups and would work for high schoolers as well.
While there are a couple duds among the 20 topics, the majority are engaging, interesting and relevant and get some good conversations going. The best thing about the series is that they are amazing for multi-level classes. The questions are open-ended enough so that everyone can give an answer according to their ability and feel confident in it. And the readings are short enough so that even the weakest students can get a basic grasp of it and not get lost in the details.
I've been using one chapter for a 50 minute class and this is definitely not enough time. I could easily do 2 hours with all the material.
The students like it. It gets them talking. It's easy to teach because there's lots of interesting, varied activities. That's all I really need for a conversation class!
I've been using levels 1 and 2 for some classes, middle school students and an advanced university conversation class. They have been amazing for both groups and would work for high schoolers as well.
While there are a couple duds among the 20 topics, the majority are engaging, interesting and relevant and get some good conversations going. The best thing about the series is that they are amazing for multi-level classes. The questions are open-ended enough so that everyone can give an answer according to their ability and feel confident in it. And the readings are short enough so that even the weakest students can get a basic grasp of it and not get lost in the details.
I've been using one chapter for a 50 minute class and this is definitely not enough time. I could easily do 2 hours with all the material.
The students like it. It gets them talking. It's easy to teach because there's lots of interesting, varied activities. That's all I really need for a conversation class!
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