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joey2001
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 697
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 Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 1:03 am Post subject: textbooks for kids |
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| xiao51 wrote: |
| Have you seen the Oxford Young Learners' Series? |
I checked out the largest bookstore in Zhongshan last night. They have lots of stuff like imported storybooks for kids and all that. But for some reason, they don't have the Oxford textbooks, only the Cambridge cr*p I've been using, as well as other written-by-Chinese stuff that's even worse than Cambridge.  I couldn't find New Parade either. They did have a series by Longman (New Oriental?) though, which seemed slightly better than Cambridge to me, as far as I could tell by scanning through quickly. It comes in box sets with CDs and workbooks. Anybody ever used those?
What I don't understand is that the Cambridge stuff for adults is OK, just the kids' material sucks. The New Interchange series is not bad - not perfect but still the best material I've used in China so far, and absolutely Chinglish-free. It's well-structured, has a comprehensive teacher's guide, written tests, audio and video material etc. Why can't Cambridge come up with useful material for kids as well? And why is nothing available in China that uses AMERICAN English?
I'll have to stick to the Cambridge book for my class - for the time being.  I'll see if I can find a book with simple fairy tales that don't cost a fortune next time. At least those should be more interesting than that boring textbook. |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 9:00 am Post subject: |
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At a guess, that boxed set could have been what used to be called "New Parade". The writing on the front is all in Chinese now but the interior is exactly the same. Although they changed the name to . . . something . . . I still call it New Parade and leave it at that. Until this year, those boxed sets came with CDs and a VCD (which I hate, by the way - nothing is ever perfect - my first graders seemed to like it though). and the books. The teachers sets came with picture cards and posters and what-not. Now they've switched back OR we got older sets that have cassette tapes. Those are a bear to work with so I just usually don't and read the dialogues myself before letting the kids have a go at them.
I've used the New Interchange before as well. Except for the fact that the technology the refer to is BADLY outdated, I too really liked its content. It's similar in format to New Parade and, I feel, is a good series to move into once the student has finished the NP series. Other people in the past have been naysayers to NI on these boards for one reason or another (all perfectly valid, they are merely opinions after all), but I stand by them as one of the better teaching tools I've used in the past. |
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xiao51
Joined: 06 Feb 2009
Posts: 208
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| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:20 am Post subject: Re: textbooks for kids |
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| joey2001 wrote: |
| xiao51 wrote: |
| Have you seen the Oxford Young Learners' Series? |
I checked out the largest bookstore in Zhongshan last night. They have lots of stuff like imported storybooks for kids and all that. But for some reason, they don't have the Oxford textbooks, only the Cambridge cr*p I've been using, as well as other written-by-Chinese stuff that's even worse than Cambridge. I couldn't find New Parade either. They did have a series by Longman (New Oriental?) though, which seemed slightly better than Cambridge to me, as far as I could tell by scanning through quickly. It comes in box sets with CDs and workbooks. Anybody ever used those?
What I don't understand is that the Cambridge stuff for adults is OK, just the kids' material sucks. The New Interchange series is not bad - not perfect but still the best material I've used in China so far, and absolutely Chinglish-free. It's well-structured, has a comprehensive teacher's guide, written tests, audio and video material etc. Why can't Cambridge come up with useful material for kids as well? And why is nothing available in China that uses AMERICAN English?
I'll have to stick to the Cambridge book for my class - for the time being. I'll see if I can find a book with simple fairy tales that don't cost a fortune next time. At least those should be more interesting than that boring textbook. |
Check out any of the Longman Series written by the very, very famous British linguistic and academic L.G. Alexander. He died several years but for most of the last century and up until his death he was the considered the "eminince grise" of authors of ESL textbooks. He has a Young Learner's Series that is heavily in use throughout China and was awarded many prizes by UNESCO, of all organizations. In fact, UNESCO paid for the initial printing of his series in China.
It is a truly great series written by an outstanding mind -- in fact, New Parade is quite, quite suburban, so to speak in comparison. There are oblique cross-cultural issues, now-and-then, but they are being edited out in the newer international editions, i.e., Monday is the day that we wash our clothes (Britain, 1950) or "what does the milkman arrive" (and how man of you have actually ever seen a milkman on a daily basis).
The series rest on the premises that the teacher who teaches it has the ability to develop the often sparse chapter into full-fledged lesson plans, but having used this series for years in China, often in tandem with the Oxford Young Learner's Series, I can frankly says that it errs on the side of linguistic brilliance. New Parade is pastiche. Try the L.G. Alexander Series -- you actually might like it.
Last edited by xiao51 on Fri May 15, 2009 8:29 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ymmv
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 387
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| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject: Re: textbooks for kids |
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| xiao51 wrote: |
| ... I can frankly says that it errs on the side of linguistic brilliance. New Parade is postiche. Try the L.G. Alexander Series -- you actually might like it. |
What an appropriate word choice: postiche
I think you meant to use the word pastiche? |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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What does pastiche mean? Thanks for the link to the other word though, I'd never heard of it before. Cute.  |
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ymmv
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 387
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| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Pastiche, a literary term. |
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xiao51
Joined: 06 Feb 2009
Posts: 208
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| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 11:41 pm Post subject: ... |
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Thank you for picking up the typo. Indeed the term is appropriate in terms of New Parade. It is so obvious that parts of the series have been simply "lifted" from other books published previously. Perhaps I should have used the terms "an appropriated compilation" but that would have been too polite, I think. Again, YMMV, thanks for the correction. |
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joey2001
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 697
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| Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 6:23 am Post subject: New Interchange |
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| kev7161 wrote: |
| At a guess, that boxed set could have been what used to be called "New Parade". |
So "New Parade" is the same as New Oriental/Longman, just with a different cover?
| Quote: |
| I've used the New Interchange before as well. Except for the fact that the technology the refer to is BADLY outdated, I too really liked its content. It's similar in format to New Parade and, I feel, is a good series to move into once the student has finished the NP series. Other people in the past have been naysayers to NI on these boards for one reason or another (all perfectly valid, they are merely opinions after all), but I stand by them as one of the better teaching tools I've used in the past. |
True, NI is pretty dated in some places. But as a teacher, we can always replace outdated with newer words, or skip dated dialogs (like the ones on computers or internet) altogether. Despite those drawbacks, I still think NI is the best there is for adults in China. I'd be interested to know what TEXTBOOKS (not short stories, movies, free talk etc.) for adult classes, available in China, those "naysayers" suggest as an alternative, other than making your own material. |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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Not knowing the boxed set you were looking at, I'm guessing we're talking about the same thing. Yeah, different cover, same inner content. It's from Longman/New Oriental so probably so.
I think with naysayers about this text series or that, it just depends on what someone has taught from in the past and then what appealed to them. Every educator is different so different series appeal based on an individual teacher and his/her background. I've actually worked with a couple other things in my early forays into "ESL" and the New Parade and New Interchange are the ones I remember the most fondly. Granted, they were both American English so that was a plus for me from the get-go. There may certainly be some other, better series out there that I've never seen, but these days I'm in a totally different place when it comes to teaching materials I use (save for New Parade 2X a week) so I can't be much more helpful to the topic at hand. |
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Sugar Magnolia
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Posts: 233
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| Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 2:39 am Post subject: |
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| I enjoy the "Paul's Language Series" handouts. They are wonderful! |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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Can anyone suggest a source for short stories or preferably comic books that would appeal to middle school students? I downloaded some of the Tintin books but although the stories are accessible, the language certainly isn't. I also looked at the Archie and Jughead books but much of the humor would be lost on this culture. Has anyone tried superheroes and which ones work the best?
I did find a website of short mystery stories--some of them written by kids themselves--which I find to be the most engaging for kids of this age and the stories are short enough that I can easily edit them. http://kids.mysterynet.com/
As for coursebooks for kids, go to any EFL/ESL publisher's site and you'll be amazed at the selection that's actually available on the market. Problem is, most are not sold here. You'd either have to import them at 10x the local price or...
It's ironic that New Oriental in Beijing, the largest publisher of EFL study materials in China, actually imports coursebooks for their oral skills courses. |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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Try going to Marvel or DC comics websites. They have online comics and if you have a computer and projector in your classroom, you can project them right onto the screen up front. But, yeah, ordering even back issue/used ones can be cheap if you have the proper source, but the shipping costs will kill you.
Try Amazon.com for comic collections in trade paperback form. You may find some deals there. And the aforementioned Marvel and DC also produce kiddie superhero comics with easier dialogue for early readers. I've often given comics to my kids and they usually love them and now my students are at an age and English level where they can make out most of the text.
As for which are the best: Anything they may have become familiar with due to recent movies: Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Wolverine, Superman, Batman. These seem to be the current "international" ones that many are familiar with.
http://www.marvel.com
http://www.dccomics.com
http://www.milehighcomics.com (a good source for cheaper back issues and trade paperbacks) |
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Mod Team
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 6613
Location: Need to know basis only.
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| Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 5:43 am Post subject: |
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I've just deleted an inappropriate posting for targeting the messenger and not the message. When and if this thread is unlocked, the next off-topic posting will earn the member posting it a serious sanction.
Please stick to the topic and avoid the petty dramas that no else is the least bit interested in. |
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