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The Primary English Teacher Guide
The Primary English Teacher Guide
with which it appears to fit into any context. It follows the typical three-stage structure of
a lesson, synonymous with pre-, while and post-, and supports not only the teachers
planning/teaching, but also the childrens learning as the two progress through a lesson.
This solution incorporates activities that easily encourage learning to learn, something
which teachers, especially newly trained ones, find difficult planning for.
Part 3: A world of Resources
In the section on discussing resources and their selection, nothing is left out. Selecting
course books is covered in detail, with lots of examples from recently published course
books. Songs, rhymes and chants have been given their own chapter, as have games.
Storybooks are also covered: a chapter full of ideas and as useful as ever. There is also a
chapter on technology - bravely attempting to harness a quickly changing field in
language teaching.
Part 4: Management Skills for Teachers
This section includes classroom management, lesson planning, assessment and record
keeping and interestingly, parental involvement. I really enjoyed reading the latter,
which is obviously based on techniques put into practice in the Young Learners Centre
in Paris, where one of the authors works. Not all the ideas are easily transferred to other
contexts, but it certainly left me with much food for thought. The assessment and recordkeeping chapter suggests several different techniques for assessing students, but
completely omits to mention the latest technique in this area, namely the language
portfolio.
The bibliography, or in this case reference section, is jam-packed full of good material
and I have starred several publications I would like to get hold of, and articles I need to
search for. However I was slightly disappointed by its organisation: my yellowed version
gives an appendix with references under useful subtitles; eg Grammar, Teaching reading
and writing etc. (pgs 229 238) but the New Edition lists the titles in alphabetical order
only.
The New Edition is publicised as being ideal for teachers, teacher trainers and trainees.
It is more intense, more formal: the authors quote from diverse sources, successfully but
academically supporting the information they give. To help the reader focus, several
chapters include a number of tasks. Simple, thought-provoking tasks which lead us into
the information which comes next and encouraging the reader to reflect regularly about
ones own context in relation to what one is reading.
Brewster & Ellis have done well: my library now holds two gems, a big one and a small
one!
References
Brewster, J., G. Ellis & D. Girard 1992 The Primary English Teachers Guide Penguin
English : Harmondsworth
By
Sandie Jones Mouro