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CAE
Testbuilder
Amanda French
From
SATEFL Newsletter, Volume 24, Number 1, Autumn 2004
The CAE
Testbuilder aims to teach students the skills and knowledge necessary
to succeed in CAE. It does this through practice tests that are supplemented
by well laid out and informative guidance/further practice sections.
These provide tasks related to questions completed in the paper.
The book contains four complete CAE exam tests for Reading, Writing,
English in Use, Listening and Speaking. There are further practice
and guidance sections within each paper. (Usually two) Students complete
the test first and are directed to the further practice sections by
way of a footnote at the end of the page.
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guidance section usually contains information on what is being tested
in that part of the paper, exam tips and a detailed study section
to allow students to think more carefully about their answers. For
the writing paper, sample answers and further practice exercises are
provided along with a useful guide on what examiners are looking for.
An answer key is provided at the back (the book is also available
without a key). It not only provides the answers but also an explanation
of why it is correct! This has been particularly useful in my class,
which is fairly large. The more competent students can check their
answers and be provided with a satisfactory explanation allowing me
to concentrate on the weaker students.
Another good thing about this book is its flexibility. If required,
each test can be administered in its entirety. The further practice
sections can be left out completely or used for revision later on.
My students have found this book very helpful and I would recommend
it as an additional class text and/or a useful resource for any self-access
centre or library. It is ideal for those classes where time is limited
as it allows activities to be directly related to the test, perfect
for anxious students!
A cassette is available for the listening tests and there are other
books in the series including one for IELTS that follow the same format.
SATEFL Newsletter, Volume 24 Number 1, Autumn 2004. Reviewed by Jenifer
Martin
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700
Classroom Activities
David Seymour & Maria Popova
From SATEFL
Newsletter, Volume 24, Number 1, Autumn 2004
700 Classroom Activities is a compilation
of activities and games designed to supplement lessons, motivate students
and enliven ESL classrooms.
The short activities are organised into four sections – conversation,
functions, grammar and vocabulary making it easy to locate relevant
activities. Games cover a wide variety of topics including accommodation,
environment, sport, descriptions and a variety of grammar topics.
The book is not organised into ability sections, although the level
of difficulty is indicated on the left of each activity, ranging from
elementary to upper-intermediate. Moreover, some activities show a
‘danger’ sign
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those activities that may offend and should be approached with caution,
i.e. comparing possessions, debating etc. There are also several projects
designed for self-study, many of which encourage the use of the internet.
Such projects enable students to practice their computer skills as
they search the WHO website for interesting issues, or visit an online
travel agent to choose their ideal holiday, providing ideal supplementary
activities for those teachers interested in CALL.
This
book provides both new and experienced teachers with an invaluable
collection of practical, classroom-tested supplementary activities.
It is especially useful for new teachers as each activity is explained
in detail, the majority of activities are written as if spoken directly
to the student, and directions are given to organise the class. Unlike
similar books however, no worksheets are provided for photocopying,
and while the activities appear to be designed for minimal teacher
preparation, if teachers wish to provide students with paper copies
of the activity, some preparation will be necessary.
SATEFL Newsletter, Volume 24 Number 1, Autumn 2004. Reviewed by Nicola
Galloway, University of Stirling.
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Macmillan
English Dictionary for Advanced Learners and Macmillan Essential Dictionary
(Intermediate level), Macmillan, 2002 and 2003
From IATEFL Issues, Issue 177, February-March 2004
Wayne
Trotman
Reviewing
dictionaries can be a tough task, especially if there’s little difference
between the one in the writer’s hands and any of its predecessors.
These two named above, however, were a delight to pore over, and it’s
no surprise to me that the Advanced won a 2002 Duke of Edinburgh book
award. The editors and their teams of lexicographers have delivered
several novelties since the last major dictionary, the CIDE, was brought
out by CUP several years ago.
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have these teams done? Well, Michael Hoey
has managed to write an interesting anecdotal Foreword, one worthy
of several readings. In it, he explains how his earliest strategies
for preparing a childhood dictionary are the antitheses of the one
he now found himself advising on for Macmillan. For example, Hoey
went to great lengths to find and explain obscure lexical items, whereas
these take care to clarify the most common. Why so? Aren’t common
words the most easily understood? Apparently not, since their meaning
tends to shift if only slightly and in subtle ways depending on the
words that accompany them. Since the most common are the most visited
by users, much of the information is given in examples rather than
definitions.
The Macmillan
English Dictionary guides to the correct meaning by indexes which
appear like mini-menus. Word sketches appear throughout to inform
users on collocational and syntactical behaviour of words with multiple
meanings.
Perhaps
the main innovation is the distinction between words the average user
will require to encode and all other words in the dictionary. This
is done by drawing on the 200 million-word database and to arrive
at a core of 7,500. All words in this list appear in red and are marked
with between one and three star ratings. The most common are allotted
three stars and are dealt with in greater depth.
The intermediate
level Essential contains 3,500 most common words and over a third
of the hundred thousand found in the advanced dictionary. Both have
lengthy, informative language study sections and both include a CD-ROM.
Oh, and both are a far cry from anything the young Hoey could have
envisaged.
Reproduced by kind permission
of IATEFL Issues
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In
Company
Mark Powell
In company
is a Business English textbook aimed at professional business people
learning English in a classroom or one-to-one context. The set includes
a class cassette and a teacher’s book containing photocopiable materials.
The approach is skills-based, taking the student through the basic
communicative business skills at an intermediate level. These include
telephoning, participating in meetings and negotiations, social situations
and written communication in the form of e-mails and letters.
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book is well organised and teacher- and student-friendly, allowing
a wide choice in the focus of the course. Each unit is based around
a particular skill or sub-skill and extra grammar and vocabulary work
is available in the section ‘Grammar and Lexis links’ at the end of
the book. At the end of each group of units there is also a ‘Talking
Points’ section, designed to promote discussion. Mark
Powell takes a lexical approach, with work on collocations incorporated
seamlessly into a communicative context. There are at least two listening
exercises in each unit. The presentation is lively and varied with
well-integrated progression through the skills of listening, speaking
and reading. There is relatively little focus on writing skills. Letters
and e-mails are covered but not report-writing.
This
book is well designed for its target market. It could also be used
for pre-experience business learners, providing that the teacher is
prepared to adapt the materials, which presuppose a fairly sophisticated
knowledge of West European business practices and situations. It could
be used with a project-based programme, for example, where the students
simulate setting up and running their own business. The book is also
very eurocentric. For example, the unit on cultural awareness deals
only with cultural differences between European countries. Teachers
with non-European students will need to look critically at this aspect
of the book and think about how they can widen the focus to accommodate
their students’ interests.
This
book is recommended as a well thought out and helpful resource for
the business English classroom. Even if it is not suitable as a class
textbook for all types of classes, this is definitely one for the
teacher’s resource shelf.
SATEFL
Newsletter, Volume 23 Number 1, Autumn 2003. Reviewed by Jeniffer
Spencer
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IELTS
Testbuilder
Sam McCarter and Judith Ash
IELTS
(International English Language Testing System) is proving
enormously popular; IELTS Testbuilder joins a range
of books designed to help those taking the examination. The
test consists of listening, academic reading, academic writing
and speaking, and this book includes four complete practice
tests. It is designed to increase familiarity with the test
and will certainly be of interest to teachers working with
students preparing for IELTS.
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book starts with a useful overview of the examination. It
includes a focus on common problem areas and a guided analysis
of model writing tasks. Included are two audio CDs, with four
listening tests. At the back of the book is a key with explanations,
which will be a help to users marking their own answers.
The samples of real student answers are very interesting,
and help to interpret the level descriptors which complete
the book, while the reading passages cover a number of interesting
themes, such as modern sculpture and e-learning. The layout
of the book, 176 pages in black and white, is simple and includes
line drawings, diagrams and photographs.
IELTS
Testbuilder is practical and workmanlike and is a valuable
addition to the IELTS preparation materials bank.
EL
Gazette, August 2003. Review by Pete Scharma
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Uncovering
Grammar
Scott Thornbury Scott
Thornbury’s Uncovering Grammar is a useful and
informed resource book for any teacher who is the least inquisitive
about new ways to teach grammar. The book combines information
about recent developments in our understanding of the learning
of grammar with related classroom activities which illustrate
these principles. The book comes in two main sections. In
the first section basic principles about grammar learning
are established and illustrated. In the second section, the
reader is provided with an array of photocopiable worksheets
which activate the principles discussed in the first section,
and which come with useful suggestions about how they can
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What
is most striking about the book is Thornbury’s determination
to avoid the stereotypical grammar textbook, which presents grammar
as an inert system and which provides teachers with exercises
designed to present and practice grammatical items with little
regard for the learners (and the learning) perspective. As the
author notes, "this is a book about grammar, but not so much
a book about how to teach grammar as a book about how grammar
is learned" (page vi). With this theme strongly in mind,
Thornbury takes the reader through some key themes in recent research
into how learners get to grips with grammar. One such theme is
‘grammar as process’. Here, Thornbury explains how in
everyday language use, we often use little if any grammar because
a great deal of relevant information is already shared (he gives
the example of public street signs such as ‘no parking’).
Thornbury deals effectively with this and other contemporary issues,
both by providing succinct and very accessible explanations, and
by showing how familiar classroom task-types can be adapted so
as to give learners a stronger incentive to use grammar richly.
Other important issues to do with the learning of grammar include
the importance of learners consciously ‘noticing’ new
language (a key initial stage in the learning process which is
often underplayed in the traditional textbook presentation task)
and the importance of teachers ‘scaffolding’ their learners’
discoveries about new grammar by interacting with them sensitively,
allowing relevant new grammar gradually to ‘emerge’
over a period of time. Too
often ideas which are proving to be very productive in SLA (second
language acquisition) research continue to make waves only in
academic circles, and perhaps the best thing about Thornbury’s
book is his awareness of these ideas and his success in making
then available to language teachers. Generally speaking, it
is still rare to find this kind of link between theory and practice
in the standard classroom textbooks (perhaps because publishers
are wary of taking too many chances if a well-established formula
seems to work – and to sell – well enough).
Uncovering Grammar
has a number of strengths which recommend it to the curious
teacher. It presents information gleaned from recent research
in a witty and readable way, and it synthesizes the functions
of classroom textbook and theoretical handbook effectively.
I hope that it gets the attention it deserves.
English Teacher:
An International Journal, Volume 5, Number 4, November 2002.
Review by Rob Batstone.
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How often are
teachers faced with the onerous challenge of teaching reading
skills with materials that both look unappealing and contain
texts that fail to engage student interest? Developing
Reading Keys, a fresh new reading skills text, avoids
those pitfalls. It is bright and attractive and contains a
range of genuinely interesting, authentic texts.
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Developing
Reading Keys is the second
book in the three-book Reading Keys series. It is designed
to foster the development of pre-intermediate level students’
vocabulary and reading skills. The book itself is divided into
eight broad themes, Including Music, Fashion and Beauty, and
Travel. Each theme is further subdivided into three topics that
take an interesting and often unusual look at the theme at hand.
Each three-unit
theme as well as each individual topic is introduced through
a combination of pictures, discussion questions, and a number
of surprisingly thought-provoking quotes ("Beauty is power;
a smile is its sword." Charles Reade). Each main text relies
heavily on the use of prediction. This very effective strategy
serves to activate schema, generate interest and provide a focus
for the students’ first reading of the text.
However the key
to the success of this book lies in its development of reading
skills. Students are inducted into reading skills ranging from
skimming and scanning to identifying cohesion and separating
fact and opinion. As each of these skills is introduced, students
are directed to the back of the book where they find a quick
tutorial containing tips on the implementation of the skill
and some practice activities. This section should be appreciated
by students and novice teachers alike.
Vocabulary skills
are also deals with thoroughly. Each unit contains activities
designed not only to develop students’ vocabularies, but
also to develop strategies for vocabulary building. Again, students
are regularly directed to the vocabulary skills "tutorials"
at the back of the book.
One of the most
innovative elements of this book is the range of text types
that are included. E-zine articles, guidebook extracts, brochures,
and Internet message boards, to name just a few, are all represented.
Introducing students to so many commonplace text types is to
be applauded. Finally, each unit concludes with a section entitled,
Talk about it. Here, discussion activities provide students
with the opportunity to combine their existing knowledge of
the topic with information gained throughout the unit.
This is an attractive,
well-designed book that certainly lives up to its claim to provide
"systematic skills training to help (learners) become independent
readers". It deserves to become a favourite of students
and teachers alike.
Thai
Tesol Focus, November 2002. Review by Steven Tait.
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College
Writing: From Paragraph to Essay
Dorothy E. Zemach & Lisa A. Rumisek
College Writing
is billed as a textbook designed to take intermediate level
students from paragraph writing to essay writing. Clearly,
this is a considerable task. However, the organisation and
content of this book show that some very smart decisions have
been made to ensure that it is effective.
The authors succinctly
sum up their approach to writing instruction by describing
the book as ‘…a process approach to writing…with
a pragmatic approach to teaching the basics of writing’.
The combination of these two elements is particularly evident
in Units 1 to 3, which cover pre-writing activities and outline
the key structural elements of the paragraph. Unit 3 ends
with an impressive section in investigating ways in which
peer editing can be conducted in a collaborative, supportive
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Units 4 to 7 provide instruction
in the writing of different paragraph types, ranging from descriptive
paragraphs and opinion paragraphs through to problem/solution
paragraphs. The authors’ objective appears to be to explore
the organisation of each paragraph type while also identifying
a limited number of characteristic linguistic elements. Progressive
teachers of EFL writing will be pleased to see that, unlike
many writing textbooks, College Writing avoids becoming
a grammar book in disguise. The language structure activities
that are included are generally well contextualised, and relate
to the numerous models texts. Indeed
model texts are used in creative and interesting ways throughout
the book. Through activities that require students to analyse,
evaluate, expand, complete, and deconstruct model texts, the
students’ active participation is ensured.
Units 8 to 12 move on to essay
writing. Unit 9, in particular, provides invaluable guidance
in the development of outlines for essays. Similarly, Unit
11 offers high-quality support in the areas of coherence and
cohesion. Finally, Unit 12 is a somewhat unique, yet unquestionably
valuable, addition to this academic writing book. The unit
covers a range of techniques for the successful writing of
timed examination essays. Thai students planning to take either
the TOEFL or another standardised test are sure to appreciate
this unit.
Overall, this is a thoughtful
and approachable book that offers students the opportunity
to investigate, discover and practice what constitutes effective
academic writing.
Thai Tesol
Focus, November 2002. Review by Steven Tait. |
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