| The Internet and Young Learners |
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The Internet and Young Learners by Gordon Lewis OUP 2004 ISBN 0-19-442182-1 Review published in ETp 36 January 2005 The Internet and Young Learners, one of OUP's Resource Books for Teachers, is aimed at ESL/EFL teachers who wish to enhance their courses through the use of the internet. It is intended for use with children aged 7 to 15 and provides clear and purposeful tasks anchored in the children's experiences. The book consists of an introduction and eight parts, with Parts 1 to 4 (first steps, communication activities, web search activities, and web creation activities) constituting the main body of the book. Each of these parts contains a number of tasks/activities. These are organised according to the following categories: level of learners, age group, time needed, aims, preparation, materials needed, in-class guide, variations, follow up and comments. The other four parts provide supplementary materials: Part 5, electronic portfolios, contains collections of students' work. Part 6, the internet as a teacher guide, shows how to use the internet in an EFL context, providing teachers with internet resources to use in their classroom. Part 7 provides useful internet addresses and websites. Finally, Part 8 provides additional material in the form of photocopiable worksheets. Perhaps the most important feature of the book is that it combines the internet with classroom activities to maximise learning potential. Thus it enables teachers to help children become 'electronically literate' by acquiring technical skills, and, at the same time, work with their English. Another important feature of the book is that because it demonstrates multimedia possibilities, it allows the teacher to introduce content in diverse ways, which will appeal to the various learning styles of the children. The Internet and Young Learners, written in a reader-friendly and accessible way, does not assume sophisticated knowledge of computers or programming. It is not a technical 'how-to' manual. Anyone with a general knowledge of basic computer processing and web navigation can use and adapt the activities in the book to his or her classroom needs. It is worth mentioning, finally, that the book is accompanied by its own website: www.oup.com/elt/teacher/rbt |
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