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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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 Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:48 pm Post subject: jungchul advice |
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hi,
ive just moved to/started hogwan in daegu.
first day on the job (so to speak...) and they tell me that ive a chance to meet the students/decide on which book i would like to use with my classes before i decide and order them. i think this a good opportunity to get it right-ish and teach at ana appropriate level.
so heres the question - what books do you recommend/not recommend generally for jungchul students. Ive had a look over some of them eg - expressway, active, super english, talk talk there seems to be pros and cons to all, but really, i want to know what the veterans opinions are.
any advice at all would be greatly appreciated,
thanks very much
ps
obviously i know i have to decide on an appropriate level myself, i just want to know if the books are any good. |
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seonsengnimble
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Location: taking a ride on the magic English bus
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| Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:57 am Post subject: Re: jungchul advice |
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| le-paul wrote: |
hi,
ive just moved to/started hogwan in daegu.
first day on the job (so to speak...) and they tell me that ive a chance to meet the students/decide on which book i would like to use with my classes before i decide and order them. i think this a good opportunity to get it right-ish and teach at ana appropriate level.
so heres the question - what books do you recommend/not recommend generally for jungchul students. Ive had a look over some of them eg - expressway, active, super english, talk talk there seems to be pros and cons to all, but really, i want to know what the veterans opinions are.
any advice at all would be greatly appreciated,
thanks very much
ps
obviously i know i have to decide on an appropriate level myself, i just want to know if the books are any good. |
It really depends on their ages and levels. For younger kids, I personally like the seesaw series. The layout is pretty simple and there's an ongoing story that keeps the kids interested. There are also songs and zany characters like Mr. Snoop.
For older intermediate students, I like American Headway and Side by Side. American Headway has its shortcomings, but I like the variety in the series and the good pronunciation break downs. Side by Side is a little dry, but it is really good for setting a solid grammatical framework for the students. There are many exercises where they can repeat the same structure with tons of different words.
I can't remember the series that I really like for advanced students since it's been a while since I've taught conversation to advanced students.
A few pieces of advice when selecting a textbook:
1. Open the book and look at where it was published. If it was published in Korea, chances are it's crap. I'm sure there are plenty of decent publishers here, but all of the Korean English books I've used here have had horrible errors on every page. Also, if it was published in Hong Kong, and you are from North America, you will need to familiarize yourself with some of the grammar differences since HK books use British English. British publishers either North American or British English depending on the textbook.
2. Avoid anything with Bricks in the name. While it is a great series for a laugh, their books are all completely insane. I have taught from the listening book where one kid asks "Is your dad from California?" to which the other kid replies "No, he's from San Diego." I also taught primarily from their reading series at a nightmare hagwon. One story is about Chubby who slips out in the tub, and Mom and Steve have to catch that slippery stupid silly sweetie. Another story involves a dog who has to beat his wife the cat because she won't cook him dinner. And another one involves a girl who thinks her cat will die because she ate the naphthalene, but it really just sublimated.
3. Look for books with themes you are interested in and have good ideas for going over with classes. Personally, I like books with animal themes and food themes.
4. Longman is a great publisher. Most of their books are very well thought out and provide a lot of opportunities to frame a lesson around. You may prefer other publishers styles, though. |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:07 am Post subject: |
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hi, thanks to the person who wrote that reply - it was pretty comprehensive and i appreciate the time it took to write it. Ive had a scout at some of your suggestions today and i think ill maybe go for headway, mostly because of what you said, the lack of glaringly obvious grammatical errors/konglish.
thanks again
Paul |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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| I agree about Longman. My PS after school classes, I use the Exploring English series by Harris and Rowe, published by Longman. 6 books in the series, they follow the same characters through the whole way, good variety of activities that, when used with outside material, forms a very solid basis for a class. |
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