Short Book Reviews: Featuring Exclusively The Round Minis

Hanna Kryszewska, Poland

Hanna Kryszewska is a teacher, teacher trainer, trainer of trainers. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Gdańsk, and EU Teacher Training College where she trains pre-service teachers. She is co-author of resource books: Learner Based Teaching, OUP, Towards Teaching, Heinemann, The Standby Book, CUP, Language Activities for Teenagers, CUP, The Company Words Keep, DELTA Publishing, and a course book series for secondary schools: ForMat, Macmillan. She is also co-author of a video based teacher training course: Observing English Lessons. Hania is a Pilgrims trainer and editor of HLT Magazine. E-mail: hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk

The Round Minis series (http://the-round.com/) is an alternative solution or addition to the traditional publishing model. The authors self-publish their books on-line as part of the Round initiative (which means they go through a selection process and professional edit), and all of the money from these mini books goes to the authors themselves. You buy the books, or rather booklets, via Smashwords in pdf or on Amazon in Kindle format at the price of around $ 1. Usually the publications are approx. 30 pages long, and they vary in terms of layout and organisation. The authors give a short rationale and then present their innovative activities. You can tell that the authors are giving their best, sharing their professional experience and ideas in the given aspect of language teaching. There are more and more titles appearing in the series so watch this special space which is ideal for creative teachers. Who knows maybe you will decide to publish yourself?

Brainstorming. Gerhard Erasmus and Hall Houston. Copyright Gerhard Erasmus and Hall Houston (2016). A round publication http://the-round.com/. Published by the Round at Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/view/606356, pp 35. In my opinion the publication is aimed at general English classes of teenagers, young adult and adult learners at reasonably advanced levels (NB. the authors do not define the age group nor state the level). The publication offers twenty ideas for using brainstorming in class. At first glance it is hard to tell whether there is a shared rationale behind certain consecuitive activities, and if they are grouped in any particular way as the publication lacks a contents page. But these are just technical matters which many users of the resource book may not mind. The publication starts with six pages of introduction, which will be useful for both teachers experienced in the field of brainstorming and less experienced ones. It first gives some background information when brainstorming started, and the basic rules of brainsorming such as: create a large number of ideas, write everything down, don’t judge the ideas and employ the ideas of others to make better ideas. Generally speaking brainstorming is one of the ways to introduce creativity and divergent thinking into the language class. Brainstorming activities can have different character and may play different roles in the lesson e.g. ‘ to expand on a topic that came up in class, to give students extra fluency practice, to use as fillers when your lesson doesn’t go as planned, or to provide a change of pace.’ The authors give some tips and guidelines for successful brainstorming activities in class and outline the stages of a brainstorming activity: setting the stage, defining the problem, guiding the discussion, and keeping the objective in mind. The springboard for brainstorming can be questions or situations presented by the teacher. The authors are aware of the traps and pitfalls of brainstorming, and take these issues on board in the introduction, too. The activities in the publication can supplement the coursebook or stand on their own. They are ready to use and require no preparartion, and as for the required materials sheets of paper or a board will suffice. The activities are innovative and fun, so I believe most learners will enjoy the lessons offerred by author. Unfortunately the activity description does not give any timing, grammar structures or functions which the learners need to know to successfully engage in the activity.

Moral Dilemmas. Lindsay Clandfield. Copyright Lindsay Clandfield (2016) Published by the round at Smashwords. A round publication www.the-round.com. Published by the Round at Smashwords www.smashwords.com/books/view/607132, pp 23. The book starts with an introduction which defines a moral dilemma and the reasons to use them in a conversation class. By definition, a moral dilemma is thought provoking and can lead to a heated debate. Aditionally, bearing in mind the new educational trend called The 21st Century Skills, activities exploring moral dilemmas also edevelop and exercise the learners’ ‘own moral reasoning and values clarification.’ In the introduction the author mentions young learners and adolescents (secondary school settings), but I am not sure if every class in these age groups will have the necessary lexical, grammatical and functional resources to engage in the discussion. I believe that these activities are suitable for higher levels and more mature learners, too. The dilemmas suggested in the book are, of course, adaptable to the interests of a given class (more suggestions are given in the section How to use this book). The section What to do if deals with issues like what to do if a dilemma is not relevant, inapproriate, too hard, not stimulating enough etc. The publication containts 14 dilemmas, teaching tips on how to find a different angle and how to dig deeper. At the end there is a vocabulary round-up, but perhaps some teachers will miss some grammar and functional round-ups.

Logic Activities. David Boughton. Copyright David Boughton (2015). Published by the Round at Smashwords www.smashwords.com/books/view/609417, pp. 20. Logic activities involve solving a puzzle; the learners get a number of clues which help them reach the right conclusion by elimination. The learners practise critical thinking skills, engage in meaningful speaking activities, have fun, and enjoy a sense of satisfaction and acheivement when they figure out the correct answer. The author gives the teachers standard procedures for conducting the activities, as well as ideas for possible extensions. The publication contains 10 such logic activities with a key. The activities have a vocabulary and grammar focus which is clearly stated at the beginning of the procedure e.g. present perfect and travelling, present continous and chores, or modal verbs and prepositions. The activities are suitable for low level students and will definitely liven up classes and enrich the teacher’s repertoire for meaningful practice of grammar structures and lexis.

At Work. Paul Walsh. Copyright Paul Walsh (2016). A round publication www.the-round.com. Published by the Round at Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/view/607515, pp 32. The publication is aimed at business English classes. It offers twenty speaking activities which fall into six groups: small talk at work, everyday life at work, statistics at work, time at work, problem solving at work, and roleplays at work. Some of the sections start with a short definition of the speaking genre “Small talk is polite conversation about uncontroversial topics, which makes people feel relaxed before moving on to more important matters.” Where necessary the key term or concept is explained at the beginning of the activity, e.g. ‘A startup, according to entrepreneur Neil Blumenthal, is ‘a company working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed’, ‘The customer is always right is a phrase popularised by successful retailers. It means that a business should prioritise customer satisfaction and take customer complaints seriously.’, ‘Negotiation: a discussion between two (or more parties) aimed at reaching an agreement on a disputed issue.’, or ‘Union: an organisation that represents the interests of workers.’ The activities are clearly structuread and well described. They always include an outline, the main focus of the activity, and the procedure. Where appropriate the required ‘equipment’ is listed, although I would have preferred the word ‘materials’ as the teacher will ocasionally need to prepare index cards, or use everyday objects. The activities are ready to use and require hardly any preparartion. They follow the principle of ‘ learner generated materials’ or ‘lessons from the learner’, which means the learners engage in the activities, make an active and constructive contribution to the acitivity, have fun, and get motivated by the fact that there is no prescribed final outcome. Teachers and learners who are tired of photocopiable materials, closed exercises with only one correct answer or use of a lot of technology, will certainly enjoy the lessons offerred by the book. Unfortunately the activity descriptions do not give any timing, grammar structures or functions which the learners need to know to successfully engage in the activity. I am sure this would be important information for the teachers, especially those less experienced ones.

Please check the How to Teach Business Professionals at Pilgrims website.
Please check the English Language Improvement for Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the English Language Improvement for Adults course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology & Language for Primary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology & Language for Secondary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.