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coledavis
Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838
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 Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:32 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, when I was called upon to do one-to-one with some heads of companies, I used my specialist knowledge to deal with recruitment, psychometrics etc. Oddly enough, the SEOs were less than interested in 'hello, this is Sunrise Enterprises, how can I help you?', 'Can I put you through?' |
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slaqdog
Joined: 29 Apr 2003
Posts: 211
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:41 am Post subject: |
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English File is a far far better texbook than the 'mighty' Headway as you describe it. Books produced now are much better than 25 years ago; easier to use yes but in no way "dumbed" down. The extra materials and the web site are brilliant aids to teaching; as is the book: an aid not a solution.
No single textbook can cover all situations-witness the absence of a good business English txtbk should highlight the brilliance of the latest generation of general English textbooks.. |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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The 'mighty' Headway in that it dominated EFL for most of the 1990s, whether or not people liked it.
As for Business course books, they are an excellent case in point: to use any of them well relies more on the teacher's own skills than the writers'. Possibly because most teachers involved in business English have more teaching experience than the typical NEF class teacher. Hence the constant criticism they draw, usually from newer teachers. (Not knocking NEF, by the way - an excellent series.) |
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kazazt
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
Posts: 164
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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| The American Language Course has never been dumb downed as it was dumb to start with. DLI dullards. |
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sharter
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place
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| Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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| I like Cutting Edge for GE. |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 2279
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:56 am Post subject: |
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Sashadroogie posted
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My own view is that course books today come complete with everything a teacher would need in the classroom. As has been posted, teachers' books have been beefed up considerably, photocopiable worksheets aplenty, CDs for everything. All very welcome, may I hasten to add. It does indeed make life easier.
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I think so too.
Sashadroogie posted
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| However, I sometimes find that it can be too easy and encourages lazy practices. Teachers can just slavishly follow unit after unit unthinkingly, always assured that they can fill the lesson time with some juicy ready-made game still hot off the presses (well, OK, the photocopier). But all groups get the same dose of English File or whatever, regardless of their needs. |
I agree, and for teachers who don't know how to design their own material or never feel it's relevant (the three step method has its followers), they're definitely missing something.
johnslat posted
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OK, I'll admit it. I have never used any text as anything more than a "take-off" point. Since most places I've taught do it backwards (i.e. pick a text and then design the syllabus around it,) I necessarily have to follow the syllabus.
But, of course, there is no such thing as "the perfect text," so I take from it whatever I think is useful, skip what I think isn't (which is often a lot,) and make up the difference with my own materials. |
I feel the same way, and have taught some classes with no main texts. It does make life more difficult, but the classes can be a lot more interesting, and you can still 'borrow' material from texts (in other words, the students don't need to buy them). And the places I work in design courses, but the designs are so general that many teachers teach the same way for all their courses, only fine-tuning for the level of their classes. In other words, some beginning oral classes and writing classes end up being both taught as 4 skills classes. Actually, the schools ask that we teach all skills, but focus on particular ones for the classes. And they often ask that we use books from vetted department lists, so sometimes I can't use the text I would like to (if I can find one that is appropriate).
I think part of the problem is that schools generally don't do a good job of screening students by level, and many of the classes are mixed level ones.
As to topic selection in books, the target interests of the students is key. There are higher level ESL/EFL business texts available, some of the best with case studies. I have taught some media classes, where the topics are lot more diverse and controversial than you would see in the average ESL/EFL textbook. You of course can always bring these in as supplemental activities, especially current events that spark your interest (and hopefully your students'). |
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