Rezension English For Primary Teachers

Buchbesprechung von Irena Köstenbauer.

English For Primary Teachers

OUP
Authors: Mary Slattery & Jane Willis
ISBN 0194375633

"English For Primary Teachers' is aimed at all those who have suddenly been confronted with not an easy task of teaching English to children aged 4 - 12, but also at the teachers on training courses, the ones who teach English to several different classes and levels and the ones who want to study at home.

The book is divided into 10 units and the classroom language is carefully graded. Unit 1 begins with basic classroom instructions for a typical lesson, the next one covers specific language relevant to particular activity types. In the final units the authors shift the main focus to longer stretches of talk, for example, telling a story. The lessons are are samples of good teaching practice from 13 dedicated teachers from different countries. They are real classes in action.

Each unit begins with an Overview and an Introduction linking it with to earlier units. This is followed by four to five main sections, each illustrating a different type of activity, for example: listen and identify, listen and do (TPR) or listen and mime. Within each section there are normally some sub-sections, such as:

Language focus - contains exercises which help a teacher study aspects ofthe language from the classroom extracts, practise stress and intonation

Extension ideas - a great source of more activities t use in class or the ways to extend them

Teaching Tips - with a lot of interesting ideas for adapting activities or setting them up differently

Topic Talk - in this section a teacher will find practice in talking about common topics with her classes, such as: families, animals, parties.

Pronunciation Points - focus on the sounds that cause problems to learners. They are recorded on the CD.

Each unit ends with Further Ideas, where a teacher can find some useful suggestions for further reading and activities or ways to plan materials.

The book is acompanied by the CD which contains 62 recorded extracts from typical English lessons as well as some pronunciation exercises. It is an integral part of the handbook. All in all I think it is a very useful book for all English teachers and can be recommended. Everybody will find a few good teaching technigues and some good ideas for classroom activities