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jay-shi

Joined: 09 May 2004 Location: On tour
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:32 am Post subject: Anyone using the Gogo Loves English series? |
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Hi everyone,
Love the series, hate it or find it very very so-so? My friend is writing a research paper for his TESOL MA about the Gogo series, its pros and cons and how it is generally used by ESL teachers. He would really appreciate your input.
So if you do teach any of the Gogo books please take 2 minutes to fill out a short survey, it's an excel spreadsheet, very easy to fill out and it can be downloaded here: http://esltool.com/gogo/Gogo_Loves_English_Questionnaire.xls
Once you fill it out please send the survey to: [email protected]
Feel free to have as many of your coworkers fill it out. Part of his research focuses on the differences in usage between native speakers and korean teachers, so Korean teachers are more than welcome to fill it out too.
Thanks in advance. |
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EFLtrainer

Joined: 04 May 2005
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:43 am Post subject: Re: Anyone using the Gogo Loves English series? |
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jay-shi wrote: |
Hi everyone,
Love the series, hate it or find it very very so-so? My friend is writing a research paper for his TESOL MA about the Gogo series, its pros and cons and how it is generally used by ESL teachers. He would really appreciate your input.
So if you do teach any of the Gogo books please take 2 minutes to fill out a short survey, it's an excel spreadsheet, very easy to fill out and it can be downloaded here: http://esltool.com/gogo/Gogo_Loves_English_Questionnaire.xls
Once you fill it out please send the survey to: [email protected]
Feel free to have as many of your coworkers fill it out. Part of his research focuses on the differences in usage between native speakers and korean teachers, so Korean teachers are more than welcome to fill it out too.
Thanks in advance. |
Just started using levels one and three.... hate it. The content is typical: conversations you would never have in reality.
Gogo: What's that?
Girl: It's a ping-pong ball. I play ping-pong on Sunday.
Worse, nothing to provide much context for why you would be saying this in the first place. But, who knows? Maybe I'll love it later. I hated Interchange in '93, but like it now. |
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pet lover
Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Location: not in Seoul
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:02 am Post subject: |
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First, I would never agree to teach at a school that uses that series. Second, if a school where I worked suddenly changed and started using that series, I'm not sure if I'd manage to do a midnight run before doing myself in because that is simply the worst series ever. Ever. |
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animalbirdfish
Joined: 04 Feb 2004
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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Agreed. Terrible books. The music sections were awful: loud, banging beats that drown out the words.
I taught the book once when I started at a school before they stopped using it. Whew. |
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trigger123

Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Location: TALKING TO STRANGERS, IN A BETTER PLACE
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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loved it. a good teacher can make a lesson out of a pile of anything.
i'll help your mate out with the questionnaire |
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guangho

Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Location: a spot full of deception, stupidity, and public micturation and thus unfit for longterm residency
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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Crap. Absolute crap.
Edit: Yes, a good teacher can make a good lesson from just about anything but decent materials go a long way. |
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pet lover
Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Location: not in Seoul
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:46 am Post subject: |
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Yes, that is true. A good teacher can make a lesson out of anything. But, is that "good" teacher likely to think Gogo Pukes English is the best possible textbook for his/her students?? |
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Wrench
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:29 am Post subject: |
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pet lover wrote: |
Yes, that is true. A good teacher can make a lesson out of anything. But, is that "good" teacher likely to think Gogo Pukes English is the best possible textbook for his/her students?? |
Haha
Thats the way I feel about Sha Sha and Magic Max. |
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SeoulMan6
Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Location: Gangwon-do
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:36 am Post subject: |
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I must say I'm a Gogo lover too. Two questions for the Gogo haters:
1) Why specifically do you hate Gogo? (just curious)
2) What textbook do you use and what's your opinion of it? |
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guangho

Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Location: a spot full of deception, stupidity, and public micturation and thus unfit for longterm residency
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:07 am Post subject: |
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I hated Gogo because it was the most infantile, asinine thing I ever had to teach and it's all just so....forced. It was like a bunch of ajoshis sat around in Marketing saying stuff like "Say Kim, what do you reckon is hip for the youngins these days?" "Why a red dinosaur would be splendid and quite "with it", Mr. Lee."
English Time is at least grounded in reality. It contains information the kids may actually use someday and presented in a manner that does not drive me into homicidal rages. |
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Kenny Kimchee

Joined: 12 May 2003
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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Go Go may love English but Kenny hates Go Go!
Quote: |
1) Why specifically do you hate Gogo? (just curious)
2) What textbook do you use and what's your opinion of it? |
1. Hmm, let me count the ways...it's been a few years, but I seen to recall:
a) No continuity between units or even within units
b) Unrelated vocabulary just thrown in together
c) Annoying voices
d) Horrible songs
e) ad infinitum
2. Compare to the Let's Go! series, which is the bomb: logical progression in grammar instruction, vocabulary that is relevant for the target audience, great songs...it's basically the anti-Go Go.
And as far as those "a great teacher can make any text work" comments...well, a great carpenter can make a house out of particle board using a stick as a hammer, but he can make an even nicer house with proper building materials and tools... |
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margaret

Joined: 14 Oct 2003
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:01 pm Post subject: |
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We use Gogo among others. I agree it's not as good as either English Time or Let's Go. Those 2 do seem to have to most realistic and usable dialogs. But the little kids like the Gogo books and they are actually learning to speak English from them. I like them better than the Super Kids, which to me has more irrelevant dialogs, or the Backpack, which doesn't seem to have much substance at all.
Margaret |
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pet lover
Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Location: not in Seoul
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 4:18 am Post subject: |
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Kenny Kimchee wrote: |
And as far as those "a great teacher can make any text work" comments...well, a great carpenter can make a house out of particle board using a stick as a hammer, but he can make an even nicer house with proper building materials and tools... |
This is exactly what I wanted to say, except I couldn't think of how to express it as well as you did. |
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margaret

Joined: 14 Oct 2003
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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I forgot to mention another good thing about the Gogo books--the writing books--the kids actually love them and want to do the excercises. Jay-shi I pm'd you about the survey.
Margaret |
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EFLtrainer

Joined: 04 May 2005
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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SeoulMan6 wrote: |
I must say I'm a Gogo lover too. Two questions for the Gogo haters:
1) Why specifically do you hate Gogo? (just curious)
2) What textbook do you use and what's your opinion of it? |
Just curious, why do you love it?
Any book that uses pidgin/unrealistic language has no business being in use. "Here, kids! Let's speak like no native speaker on the planet!" |
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