between adult and children as learners.
Overall, there are very good suggestions with regard to the identification of different types of learners, and the different categories are set out in a clear and precise way. However, the book does fail to make suggestions for situations in which a learner may fall into more than one profile category.
Deciding what and how to teach This second section is divided into five chapters. It discusses different types of materials and methodologies used in classes that are mixed with learners who are literate in their first language but not in English, together with native speakers who need basic skills. The author asks (47) the reader to think about the content he or she should be teaching and to consider what skill to focus on, and once these are determined, to think of the topics to be covered. To the novice practitioner, this is very good advice.
The chapter also gives a very good account of how to adapt and use “basic parameters” to cater for such needs as building vocabulary knowledge for oral work (47). Following on from teaching resources, teaching reading is carefully explored and the author discusses the approaches to reading and states that 'it's not just about teaching them to read from the alphabet or phonetically, but … [about] teach[ing] them through what they already know.' Reading and writing do not have to begin with one syllable words such as cat or dog; they can begin by using everyday materials such as street signs or notices on the side of a bus (50). Of course, this depends on the type of learner and may not work for everyone.
In next chapter, teaching writing is examined in a similar way. Different approaches to teaching learners who are not literate in writing are discussed. These include recognition of symbols to lead up to writing words, sentences and writing for audience (108). This is again useful for the ESOL literacy practitioner. The final chapter in this section is dedicated to challenging teaching situations, such as different levels and abilities and special needs. It helps to give solutions as to how to plan and develop a course to cater for different needs in one setting.
Developing a successful and coherent program In the final section, which covers the last three chapters, the author sets out to describe and give advice on how to plan courses, and how to include learning styles and write lesson plans that will cater for learners' needs within a student-centred ethos. The author gives (180) the reader very useful suggestions and ideas on activities that can be used to enhance different topics taught in an ELL classroom, such as matching signs with their instructions
As an experienced ESOL teacher, I have found this book invigorating and interesting as it covers all aspects of teaching English to English language learners, with some new ways of looking at assessments and teaching ideas to learners of mixed abilities. The book is also very useful for all ESOL and Literacy teachers in FE colleges and mainstream schools as it is carefully structured for easy use when planning a course and has very useful suggestions for writing lesson plans.
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