Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cmr]

Anyone knows the two (Backpack and Let's Go) well and could give me an idea of which is prefered and why?

We use Let's Go at my school in addition to the books all GEPIK elementary schools use, but there was talk about switching from Let's Go to Backpack. I'd like to know if anyone has an opinion about the Backpack series. I'm comfortable with the Let's Go books for our elementary students, but if Backpack is better, then I'd like to know.

Of course, this is a lot about personal preferences, so if you could tell me "why" you prefer a series over the other or why you think something is good or not that'd be nice.

[some waygug-in]

I prefer Let`s go because I know it, not that it is any better than Backpack or whatever, just that I know it. I know the songs, the exercises, the extra materials and have some idea what to do with them.

Like you, with Backpack I`d have to learn along with the students.
That can be good or bad, depending on your perspective.

That`s just my 2 cents.

[mhills]

I have used both Let's Go and Backpack, as has my Korean wife.

We both agree that Let's Go is great, easy to use, heaps of questions to ask the kids, great songs and an easy to understand layout. Also the Let's Go workbook is well balanced with the student book. There are also some Let's Go readers that aren't too bad. Only bad Let's Go book is the Let's Go Starter.

Backpack isn't as nice. It has heaps of fiddley cut and paste pages, it gets a little too busy and the kids can get lost quickly. If the kids have low level English, they will get lost very quickly with Backpack. Found that the Backpack workbook was difficult to use. Backpack is more couorful and pretty, but that just adds to kids getting lost.

So ... I have used it and I don't like Backpack, but that is my 5 cents. Wife says that Backpack is crap.

[Seon-bee]

Depends on your students interest and natural ability.

After years of teaching Let's Go, I found that very few students actually improved, their speaking especially. It's too grammar-based and audiolingual. But unmotivated kids who needed structure and listen-n-repeat activities liked it. Good resources available though.

Backpack seems to be popular at many schools. It's more ESL than EFL. Lots of poster projects and it generates more natural interaction if you know how to teach from it. Unfortunately, a lot of teachers tend to use cut & paste as free time to kick back while kids chat in Korean.

English Time is better than Let's Go, but it's also much like Let's Go (grammar presentations). Now that I think of it, Up & Away, which is from the same complany, is just more of the same grammar.

English Land works well, although Disney is highly overrated. It's just another book to the kids. They don't even know most of the characters aside from the classic Cinderella and Snow White, etc.

We started using Tops. It's been easy to use and so far is showing good results.