| Lessons in Your Rucksack |
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by John Hughes Modern English Publishing 2005 1-904549-07-1 Don’t forget to pack this book! These are the author’s words on the back cover of the book and, to tell the truth, these are words I would subscribe to as a reviewer. This is not a book for researchers or scholars, but a must for practising teachers – extremely good for novices but also interesting for experienced teachers who are looking for some refreshing ideas. It is written for the native speaker teaching abroad, but numerous sections may also be of interest to non-native-speaker teachers who teach in their homeland and speak the same mother tongue as their students. The book is divided into an introduction, 13 chapters and an index. The content of the chapters is varied and includes ‘surviving your first lesson’, ‘introducing grammar’ and the very necessary ‘when you run out of things to do’. Chapter 13 is a miscellaneous collection of teaching-related information, such as tips for job hunting, websites with materials, lesson plans, lists of conferences and book-sellers; it also contains some practical advice for teachers regarding travel, visas, health insurance, etc. The book is full of practical teaching ideas (over 150), with very detailed instructions for how to carry them out. There are also plenty of quotations from teachers scattered throughout the text which refer to personal experiences of different issues. In addition, the grey-tint boxes that appear regularly are, in my opinion, as interesting as the activities themselves. These boxes provide the very basics in ELT methodology for a newcomer to the profession. For example, they make clear what the most common acronyms are in ELT, they make reference to classroom language and instructions, they deal with the importance of establishing routines. Some of these boxes can be photocopied (eg the one on page 118, which gives a guided writing activity). My only concern, after reading the introduction, is that readers may get the idea that any native speaker going abroad can find a job as an ELT teacher. I know that in reality there are some teaching posts requiring little or no formal training, but perhaps the book could have contained some advice about what makes a good candidate to become an ELT teacher and what kind of educational background they should have. Among the positive aspects, I was pleased to note that some of the activities that I learnt in my first year and which I still use after 17 years of teaching are amongst those suggested in this book. If something works well for the first year, it may do so for the rest of your professional life! Antonio R Roldán Tapia Córdoba, Spain Antonio R Roldán Tapia Córdoba, Spain |
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