Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Blue Flower]

My schools asked me to recomend some text books for a new elementary school branch they're opening. Apparently they'll be getting a new foreign teacher as well, part time.

Anyway - I've searched this site for recomended text books, and the winner seems to be the Let's Go series, followed by English Time, New Interchange, and the American Headway/New Headway books. Is this correct???

Anyone have any extra's to add?

[crazylemongirl]

new interchange and the american headway set would be way too hard for elementary school students...

[Dawn]

Ditto on the New Interchange/American Headway comment.

Let's Go works best if the school is willing to fork over the money needed for the entire curriculum -- teacher's manuals, chant books and tapes, flashcards, grammar and listening workbooks, etc.

If you're working with really young students (preschool-Grade One), you might also want to consider Magic Time. It's also put out by Oxford, but is designed for students who aren't old enough for English Time.

If the school wants students to learn to read as well as speak, you may wish to consider a phonics curriculum to supplement either Let's Go or Englist Time.

[some waygug-in]

I agree with the above posts and I would add the following.

Let's Go is great if the school provides all (or even most) of the teaching materials. I never used the chant books, but the extra grammar books are useful as well as the teacher cards. This can get a bit pricey for most places, so they tend to shy away from it.

If you are down to a choice of just the textbook and workbook without all the additional stuff,
take English time over Let's Go.

It's easier to work with on it's own.

There are also reading materials that can be used with either series, but they have to be purchased separately.

For additional grammar exercises, you could use the workbooks from
American English Today and Up and Away. Most of the exercises are self explanitory. Phonics is useful as a suppliment as well, but that may be overdoing it a bit.


Anyway, I hope this helps.

[Real Reality]

What about this textbook for elementary school students?

Teachers need little encouragement to use such texts. Park Geun Byung, a teacher at Song Chun elementary school in Seoul, uses a storybook that instructs his fourth-grade class in the tale of an evil dragon that prevents a Romeo and Juliet on either side of a river from marrying. The river is plainly the DMZ. The evil dragon is meant to represent the U.S. Park is a believer in what he calls 'unification education.' 'Teachers,' he adds, 'don't have to be neutral.'"
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200406/200406160035.html

[Blue Flower]

Thanks, i'll print this out and let them have a look.

[saw6436]

I'm a big fan of the Let's Go series (you can skip Let's Go 6). I do agree with other posters about the supplemental materials. They really do add alot of value to the books. That being said I only use the cards and stuff for LG 1,2 and 3. By LG4 the kids should be up to speed to figure the rest out with just your help.
IMHO LG2 is perhaps the most important and useful book in the series. I pretty much feel if a student masters LG2 they have all the basics necessary to deal with the English language. For that matter I my found that my wife turns to my copy of LG2 from time to time as a refresher for her English study.
Just my 2 cents.

[VanIslander]

Check out other ones recommended on the "Best textbooks/worst textbooks" thread:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=8843&highlight=best+textbooks+worst

The Exploring English series is a valuable compliment to have.

[Badmojo]

[Blue Flower]

I told my school that everyones recomended the Let's Go series, and they told me that about 80% of Hagwons use that series. Sounds like a lot. and that they wanted to do something different.