Job Discussion Forums

[El_Che]

whilst i don't rely on them exclusively, course books are a very useful tool for some of my lessons.

the trouble is, many are expensive (especially with add-ons like CDs) and it's a bit of a minefield choosing the right one(s).

i teach in spain and all of my students are adult learners, and mostly business professionals.

i'd be interested to read about any recommended course books, especially on business english, and others which use interesting and current topics with emphasis on 'real english'.

[Sonnet]

For modern, functional, task-based business English, I'd thoroughly endorse the Market Leader series. I've never seen, or taught from, a more useful series of books - although I do live out in the sticks in Asia, and hence might well be a decade behind you European lot in terms of up-to-date coursebooks...

[El_Che]

[LongShiKong]

...and for Kids?

I find SuperKids Longman/Pearson, 2nd edition quite limiting for what you can do with it in class. For level 4, the language presented and exercises are too limited for kids at this stage so it means I've got to spend a lot of time preparing interactive materials and games to make up for the coursebooks limitations. It's as if the author wrote the whole series for the intellectual capacity of a level 1 student. Level 4s are almost twice as old and twice as capable as level 1s.

[KingEric]

I find Market Leader is great for professionals who already have familiarity with the concepts of business and just need the language. The case studies make for great discussion.

[rusmeister]

I know there are people who bust on Oxford's Headway series, but I'm comfortable with it. The critical thing is that whatever you use have consistent language building in it. Most course books I have seen randomly cover language elements and don't consistently build language (what is presented as new vocab in unit one should be in the reading text, grammatically analyzed and then become part of the regular (expected) vocab for units 2 and beyond).

What is annoying about Headway is that they released a 3rd edition recently and all 3 editions are floating around out there and frequently people obtain the wrong edition. I think there ought to be a law that forces them to recall old unsold textbooks from retail outlets when new editions are released.

[soapdodger]

There are other titles aside from the "class" texts in Market Leader which are also good. Also have a look at what Summerhill publishers have to offer. There's quite alot available outside the big publishers which is just as good or better. Oh, and bittorrent. Did I say that? OOps.

[soapdodger]

Rusmeister, good points. Like the one about should be a law....Why do textbooks constantly change? Apart from the fact that lazy publishers can't be bothered to employ competent editorial staff or properly test things out in real classes so that almost everything that comes out is riddled with mistakes and shortcomings, meaning revised editions are a must, the key words are "second-hand books". Publishers don't like them, so keep pushing the market along. There should be a law against thinking up "essential examinations" and changing them periodically, not because of any linguistic advances but to insure that a vested interest in producing reams of associated texts, tests and materials is fed.

[KingEric]

[Phil_K]

Oxford's New English File is one of the best I've used.

[Justin Trullinger]

I liked "English File" all right, but didn't know it had gone "new."


They have to keep updating to force people to buy them again and again...



best,

Justin

[TheLongWayHome]

No mention of Inside Out. Ok, I'll mention it - easy to supplement or use as supplementary material.

[rusmeister]

I'll ask if anyone has seen a truly superior grammar supplement. I use Round-Up by Virginia Evans, being the best of the lot that I have managed to find over the years, but it has its weaknesses, particularly on the upper levels (but it does have the best tables I have ever seen).

[soapdodger]

Yes, agree with The English File...if it could breathe it would obviate the need for a teacher ( well, almost!). Funny thing is, creating one's own material seems to have gone out of fashion, unless it means fiddling with cut up bits of photocopy and crayons a la Blue Peter. Yes, there is the time:energy:(motivation) factor - which is a bit weak- but a well-constructed worksheet can be used again and again and pays back the initial time investment in spades. Do it really well and you could be making zillions ( arf, arf ) along with the big names splashed across those must-have catlitter liners, oops, textbooks. To anyone who feels that their knowledge of the language isn't firm enough to do that, I would recommend Quirk and Greenbaum's University Grammar of English...this is for reference and definitely not to stick in front of students, it's quite expensive, but well worth the investment if you want to take teaching seriously.

[gaijinalways]