Humanising Language Teaching
Year 2; Issue 4; July 2000

Short Reviews republished from The Teacher Trainer 14/2

In this issue we offer you Tessa Woodward's short reviews of a dozen books. These have already been published in her specialized journal and HLT is simply making them available to a wider range of people.

Thank you Tessa.

PUBLICATIONS 14/2 NO In this column, publications from different fields and which have relevance to modern language teacher trainers are swiftly described so that you can tell if they are interesting enough for you to read or buy.

BOOK SERIES

A series of A4 sized resource books for primary teachers has been brought out by OUP and series edited by Alan Maley. Each book contains 60-100 primary class activities in recipe format, photocopiable worksheets and teacher guidance. Titles are:
Young learners by Sarah Phillips (1993) ISBN 0-19-437195-6
Very young learners by V.Reilly & S.M.Ward (1997) ISBN 019-437209-X
Games for children by G.Lewis & G.Bedson (1999) ISBN 0-19-437224-3
Projects with young learners by Diane Phillips et al (1999) 0-19-437221-9
Drama with children by Sarah Phillips (1999) ISBN 0-19-437220-0

INDIVIDUAL BOOKS

Cracking creativity by Michael Michalko. (1998) ISBN 0-89815-913-X Ten Speed Press (Distributed in the UK by Inspiration Resources). Each chapter of the book takes a different creative- thinking strategy showing how it's worked for creative geniuses (such as Leonardo da Vinci, Martha Graham etc) and provides exercises to help readers put it to work in business and personal life. The text is livened up with anecdotes, diagrams and occasional green print. A slightly jerky but interesting read.

Correction by M.Bartram & R. Walton (1991) ISBN 0-906-717-91-4. LTP. The book describes the development of the authors' ideas on four basic questions: Should I correct? Why? When? How? It's designed to help teachers consider their own attitudes and classroom behaviour. Useful for pre- and in -service courses. Easy to read because of its large print, short sections and charitable attitude.

On becoming an innovative university teacher by John Cowan (1998) ISBN 0-335-19993-3. Open University Press. Each chapter poses a question ( e.g What is meant in education by "reflecting"?), answers it with a series of examples and closes with second thoughts which include viewpoints different from the author's. Aims to help university teachers plan and run innovative activities to enable their students to engage in effective, reflective learning. Recommended.

Teaching English in Spain by Jenny Johnson (1998) ISBN 1-873047-12-6. In Print pubs. A practical teaching manual and living guide telling you how to find a job, sort out visas, travel and accommodation and make the most of living and teaching in Spain. Addresses, phone numbers, specifically Spanish language problems and short interviews with ex-patriate teachers in the appendix.

High-risk children in schools by R. Pianta & D.Walsh (1996) ISBN 0-415-91622-4. Routledge. Using systems theory and developmental psychology, the authors present the "contextual systems model" a new framework for the study and education of children at risk (the bottom 20 percent) Contains demographics and critiques of present explanations of risk. USA based.

The Achilles syndrome by Petruska Clarkson (1994) ISBN 1-86204-263-2. Element Books. A large discrepancy between what we actually achieve and what we think we are capable of can course anxiety and stress. This book offers case studies, help and advice. So, if you're acknowledged as a winner but feel like a loser, this book is for you!

The discourse reader Eds A. Jaworski & N. Coupland (1999) ISBN 0-415-19734-1. Routledge. Planned as a degree level teaching text this integrated and structured set of 34 writings focuses on linguistic, interactional, textual, social and cultural issues. The contributions (including ones by Austin, Grice, Cameron, Labov, Malinowski, Goffman, Tannen, Foucault) work chronologically from the origins through methods to applications of discourse analysis. Thick, small print. You'll need stamina.

Evaluation by P. Rea-Dickins & K. Germaine (1992) ISBN 0-19-437138-7. OUP. The nature, principles and practice of evaluation. Sections on what it is, purposes, how we can evaluate curricula, projects, methods, materials, teachers, learners in a principled and systematic way. Very slightly dated but still excellent background reading.

The academic career handbook by L. Blaxter et al. (1998) ISBN 00-335-19827-9. Open University Press. Designed for those working or hoping to work within the higher education system, this book emphasises staff development and offers guidance on networking, teaching, researching, writing and managing as well as getting published, obtaining research funding and seeking promotion.

A teachers' grammar by R.A. Cl.ose (1992) ISBN 0-906717-48-5. LTP. A revised edition of Close's "English as a foreign language" which argues that the grammar of English is a matter of relatively few but quite powerful distinctions including that between objective grammar as Fact ("children" not " childs") and subjective grammar as Choice ("I live/am living in Kent" are both possible).

The guide to languages and careers by A.King & G.Thomas (1997) ISBN 1-87401686-1. Designed for modern languages students, parents, teachers and career advisors in the UK, this independent guide from CILT provides course and careers info for post- 16 and post- 18 year olds. Includes advice on study and work abroad and a useful book list.

Dictionaries by Jon Wright (1998) ISBN 0-19-437219-7. OUP. 80+ ideas written up as recipes for making effective use of dictionaries both as a reference tool and a language learning resource. Sections on getting started, headwords, meaning, vocabulary development, texts for integrated skills work and bilingual dictionaries.