Macmillan Book Reviews

The Macmillan English series is a set of six primary level books aimed at meeting the needs of today's modern children. Each level has a student book, a practice book, a fluency book and a teacher's manual. The student book focuses on all the major language skills with each unit containing sections on spelling, reading, listening and grammar practice, etc. Although there's plenty for the student to do, the all-important graphics and illustrations look a little dated and uninspiring. Looking at the Book 3 reading sections, I'm not altogether sure how excited students are going to get about ice age mammoths, Roman centurions and letters from sailors but as always, much will depend on the teacher piquing the students interest. The practice book does what it says on the tin with plenty of supplementary exercises. The fluency book is interesting inasmuch as it not only does it contain a selection of stories but also stickers that students can stick in the relevant parts of the book (or on each other I suppose)
The undoubted star of the collection is the teacher's manual. It's beautifully presented and a joy to flick through. Some teacher's guides serve only to confuse and attempt classroom tasks and activities that are too ambitious. This particular teacher's guide never tries to be too clever and it will be any newbie teacher's best friend from the moment they enter the classroom.

This is a grammar book as grammar books are meant to be. On the left-hand page, you have the unit topic (verb tenses, modal verbs, comparisons, quantifiers, etc) with plenty of examples on how the structures are used. On the right-hand page (and often two or three more pages) you have plenty of exercises to photocopy. I've sworn by the Murphy Grammar in Use series for years and this is even better because it contains a better variety of student exercises and practice. Many of the exercises contain quality color photographs, which is a shame because that won't matter a jot when you photocopy it.
The book also comes with a CD-Rom that contains a glossary of words, extra practice for each unit and printable tests. Definitely one for the teachers room bookshelf!

This is a series of exciting vocabulary books designed for students who are taught subjects in English. The science edition contains 28 science topics ranging from living organisms to photosynthesis and nutrition to digestion. Each unit contains a word list, diagrams and clear explanations and is rounded off with a selection of activities (gap fills, match the word to the definition, fill in the table, etc) The accompanying CD-Rom contains searchable glossaries. interactive activities and animations that really bring the topics to life.

The Topics series covers a range of ten topics aimed at beginner to intermediate levels. The appeal of each book is that they are presented in a lively glossy magazine format with modern topics, articles, light-hearted puzzles and tests and mini-project ideas; however, that does mean that the pages tend to come across as 'too busy' and I do wonder how successful the series would be if the teacher used it as part of a classroom lesson. There are some excellent ideas on the project page though. Projects that good teachers would get a lot of mileage from.

Ever been sat in a corner of a teachers room and felt left out of the conversation because your colleagues are harping on about discourse markers, pragmatics and phatic language? No it hasn't happened to me either but if you've had such hairy moments, then TEFL legend Scott Thornbury's meaty new offering An A-Z of ELT is something you should purchase and clutch lovingly to your bosom.

Ambitiously touted on the back cover as the 'book that every teacher and teacher trainer needs' this is an alphabetical journey through all those frightening words and definitions that get discussed on many a linguistics course and then some. The book isn't for everyone. For those who are worried that the differences between 'critical pedagogy' and 'transformative education' might trip them up at an interview - then don't be. If you've seen Woody Allen's classic movie Annie Hall then you'll remember a scene where Diane Keaton and our Woody are ambling hands-in-pockets through a planetarium. Upon seeing a papier-mâché model of Jupiter, Keaton asks Woody if he can name its seven moons. Allen's quickfire response is "no, and what's more they never come up in conversation"

That's largely how I feel about this book. If you want to fill your head with this stuff then by all means go for it but your average TEFLer can carve himself or herself a very successful teaching career and know only a fraction of it. I've taught 'however' and 'in conclusion' for donkey's years (and taught them well) and never thought of them as concessive or summative linkers. Get my drift?

There is also an entry for 'native speaker' - and is defined as a person who has acquired the language as their first language in childhood. Native speakers are considered to know this language intuitively, and to use it accurately, fluently, and appropriately.

The book also provides answers to questions such as 'why use an inductive approach?', 'what is TPR?' and 'what is an example of a Grice's maxim?' Whether the answers will come in useful as you're trying to control a class full of fifty unruly teenage kids is probably up for discussion.

Let's face it - 'classroom activity' books are a teacher's right arm. On those days when you're dog-tired, unwell or just devoid of ideas, a 'bank' of tried and trusted lesson-fillers is worth its weight in gold. Call them games, call them language-focused activities - students love 'em. Unfortunately, as any teacher who has taught in Thailand will tell you, lack of student imagination is often the biggest obstacle. In any book such as this - some activities will work - most of them won't. Always keep in mind that it's a numbers game. In a book crammed with 700 activities, if I can find 20-30 that work well with different levels then I'm a very happy man.

The first thing that appeals to me about 700 classroom activities is that none of the activities require photocopying. These are ideas that any teacher can use without running the gauntlet of the admin staff and finding out that the person responsible for re-ordering ink for the new Xerox machine got sacked the previous Friday. In addition, each activity is graded according to suitability for students ranging from elementary to upper-intermediate.

Depending on what kind of activity you want to present, you'll find the book divided into four sections - conversation, functions, grammar and vocabulary. Every section contains activities we've all seen before and tried with varying degrees of success (divide the class into two groups and discuss the pros and cons of capital punishment - groan) but there are plenty of gems as well. To pick out a few of my favorites, the conversation section contains an activity called Bills where students first get to discuss how much they pay each month for electricity, water, mobile phone, etc and how they pay each bill. Then they get to act out a role-play between for example, the utility company and the customer who's strapped for cash. I also love the idea of having students perform a recorded phone message for various businesses such as a hospital, a library or an estate agency. These ideas may or may not work but there are plenty of activities like this that are worth a try - at least once.

The functions section includes activities about past regrets, proverbs, buying and selling, flat share problems, lateral thinking, gestures and even describing perfect aliens. There's certainly a variety in here.

As I said, it's all about finding a couple of dozen activities that go down well and using them and tweaking them to suit your own teaching style and the needs and moods of the student group. I think you'll find a good selection of 'lesson-fillers' here.

Learning Teaching
Jim Scrivener
427 pages

In the notes about the author, Jim Scrivener apparently became an English teacher as a temporary measure until he could decide what career to choose. He's obviously come a long way since then and in this book, you feel he's truly sharing all of his experiences - both the good and the bad. This book is aimed at the new teacher and the experienced alike. Both groups will gain some terrific insights into teaching.

The book begins with a section on 'classrooms at work' including four detailed pictures of different classroom environments and a description of what's going on in each. Jim writes about the definition of a teacher and what influences them. He writes about learners expectations and how to create a good classroom environment. I was instantly hooked. This is all very useful and relevant stuff and the writer does well to present it in an interesting and lively way.

Also in the book you'll find hints and strategies to help you get through the early stages of your teaching career. How to set up an activity or project. The differences between teaching groups and individuals. The lowdown on classroom management. How to present information effectively and how to teach tricky subjects like reading and writing. And if that were not enough - Jim's packed the book with activities that have all worked for him in the EFL classroom. It's a book you'll want to dip into again and again for new ideas and to make sure you're doing things 'right'. It's simply a terrific book!

Children Learning English
Jayne Moon
185 pages

Whether intentional or not, many teachers end up teaching kids in Thailand quite simply because it's the fastest growing market and it's often where the money is. There are also those of us who despise teaching tiny adults but have had to 'step in' at a moment's notice when a fellow colleague's 'on a sickie'. It's certainly happened to me on occasion and how nice it would have been to have had a book like Jayne Moon's excellent Children Learning English to look through before being thrown into the lion's den.

Apart from working in different parts of Asia, Jayne has been a teacher educator and curriculum developer, a TESOL lecturer at Leeds University, and now works as a freelance teacher educator. She dedicates the book to all the children she's worked with around the world. Nice.

The book goes through sections on children as language learners and ways to observe them, children's attitudes to learning English, strategies for responding to different needs, teacher experiences and concerns, ways of supporting language learning and organizing children, and of course lesson plans and activities. It's packed with stuff that is guaranteed to improve things in the often chaotic environment of a children's classroom. It's a very worthwhile addition to Macmillan's range of books for teachers.

Language Games for English Language Learners
CD-Rom

The Language Games CD-Rom contains over 150 language-learning games for students to play. There are grammar and vocabulary checks and longer challenges to test both your gaming and language skills. The CD has something for every student from beginner level right up to advanced. Games can be played individually, in pairs or even in groups.

Setting up the CD on the computer is easy (provided it meets the minimum specifications) and the first thing you see is that the games are divided into three bands - easy, average and difficult. The average band would easily suit learners at a pre-intermediate or intermediate level. In each band, the games are divided into types including adventure games and classic word games (word-searches, crosswords, hangman, etc)

The navigation menus are extremely clear and easy to follow and the game-play is challenging. Students are even awarded a certificate if they score a certain number of points. All-in-all this will make a very welcome addition to a teacher's bag of tricks provided (as always) their school has the technology to handle it.

500 Activities for the Primary Classroom
Carol Read
320 pages

Well, if the popularity of the '700 Classroom Activities' book is anything to go by then this should sell by the truckload. Imagine it - a whole 300 pages of well-laid out, easy to dip into ideas for kids aged 4-12. Banish those "what the hell am I going to do with my kids tomorrow?" blues forever.
Seriously though, it's one hell of a book. Carol Read has years of experience working with secondary students and primary school children so hopefully these are all 'lesson-fillers' that have either worked for her or worked for teachers whose opinion she trusts. Each activity is clearly marked with age, level and organization and indexed by language structure. So if you're looking for plenty of ideas to get students sitting in circles, clapping their hands, running about, singing songs and generally having a good old time - then grab a copy now.