Author: gustavorernesto

ESL Teaching books – The Ultimate Teaching ESL Book of Speaking Activities is a resource pack containing roleplays, problem solving activities, questions, visual materials and a whole host of other stuff to make your classes special. This is not the greatest book in the “ESL Teaching books” section, but it is the cheapest.

Arguably, teachers need two kinds of knowledge: declarative and procedural. Declarative knowledge is propositional, and includes information and propositions. Teachers have declarative knowledge of, among many other things, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, disciplines, pedagogical content and child development. Procedural knowledge, on the other hand, consists of knowing how to do something.

To complicate matters, reflection, enquiry and learning to be a professional are forms of knowledge, key to teaching, which have a declarative core and a procedural practice. The declarative core may be taught in a series of lectures, but only when knowing about reflection becomes ‘reflecting’ are the advantages of this knowledge generated. The same is true for enquiry and professionalism.

However, the issue is even more complex. Firstly, the distinction between declarative and procedural knowledge seems neat only because the level of abstraction is so high. Even those content-rich knowledges just mentioned do not contain all that needs to be known.

Secondly, the concept of a ‘teacher knowledge base’ is a contested one. Some regard it as being impossible to specify (Kincheloe 2004; Edwards, Gilroy, & Hartley 2006).

Thirdly, the distinction gives rise to misunderstanding because it appears to express underlying assumptions about ‘theory–practice divides’ which occur in space and time. Spatially, theory is associated with university/college, and practice with school. In time, theory is more associated with the initial stage and less with continuing learning. Fourthly, although the two types of knowledge and their interrelationships are complex, governments tend to believe that teaching is common sense.

In 2006, some frustrated teacher educators argued, ‘it is not possible to find an objectivist [that is, declarative] knowledge-base for teacher education and [practitioners should] recognise that the one that is currently policed in England by Ofsted is a fiction enforced by political fiat’ (Edwards, Gilroy, & Hartley, 2006, p.50).

After reading “The Ultimate Teaching ESL Book” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

The Bilingual Reform Book –  eliminates a mistake of the century: the exclusion of the mother tongue from foreign language teaching. Two insights are compared theoretically and practically:

(1) You only learn a language by using them.

(2) The mother tongue is the language mother who paves the way for languages ​​to be learned later. 

With this book, change has indeed come in foreign language teaching. Wolfgang Butzkamm and John Caldwell have added a teacher-friendly book that constructs praxis by examining practical classroom strategies as well as illuminating relevant theories in second or foreign language teaching. Already in the introduction the authors’ attachment to critical pedagogy, student-centred learning and the advocacy of an eclectic approach to foreign and second language teaching is evident.

Each of the fourteen chapters in the book contributes to form a comprehensive unit with a vast array of practical techniques that can be effectively employed in the teaching of another language. Verbatim citations of comments made by students and teachers alike add an extra dimension, illustrating relevance thorough personal observations, and providing accessibility to the theoretical stance taken. The narrative-like quality of the writing style transforms this book from an instruction manual on foreign language teaching to text which can be enjoyed even as extensive reading.

In chapter one the pre-eminent role of foreign language input and interaction is reaffirmed; however, the authors reassure the foreign language teacher of the complementary role of the mother tongue in message-orientated discourse. Important issues that are addressed are immersion, the critical mass hypothesis, the undesired side-effects of monolingualism, and medium-oriented and message oriented communication. Throughout the presentation of the theoretical aspects addressed in this chapter the authors have sandwiched in many practical guidelines not only for the beginner teacher; the chapter also consolidates the accumulated experiences of the seasoned
foreign language teacher.

After reading “The Bilingual Reform Book”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

Bilingual Education in Primary School: Aspects of Immersion, CLIL, and Bilingual Modules. Bilingual forms of teaching are currently very popular in a multilingual Europe, both in primary and secondary school. This introduction provides a good overview of current research results, concepts, questions and practices in bilingual teaching at primary level. The book is aimed equally at teachers, trainee lawyers and students and provides information about opportunities and limits that must be taken into account when introducing bilingual teaching programs such as CLIL, immersion or bilingual modules. Each chapter contains a short summary, preparatory and follow-up questions about the text and literature recommendations for the individual areas.

Briefly and succinctly one can define bilingual education as “education in which two languages are used within the school” (Baker 1988: 46).

The common factor of all schools which indicate to have a bilingual education programme is merely that a few or even all of the content based subjects are conducted through a second language, which is not the mother tongue of the majority of students. Other programmes aim at bringing off students who are bilingual at the end of their schooldays. Yet others aim at facilitating the transition from a minority language to a majority language, which might, at worst, lead to losing one language while acquiring another. There are also programmes, which aspire to increase the pupils’ proficiency in a foreign language so that they have a sufficient and agreeable knowledge of that language by the end of their schooldays (cf. ibid.: 45, 46).

What is important to state is that education has, apart from a few exceptions, traditionally been monolingual. Hence, teachers and parents have the right to be concerned about the “provision and occasional enforcement of bilingual education” (cf. ibid.: 45). One question that arises in this context might be, whether ‘being thrown in at the deep end’ is too much to ask for from a child at the tender age of four or five, like it is the case in Wales? And yet more interesting: Has bilingual schooling a positive or detrimental effect on students? An account of the appropriateness based upon personal experience will be provided later.

After reading “Bilingual Education in Primary School”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

What Teachers Need to Know About Language – Rising enrollments of students for whom English is not a first language mean that every teacher – whether teaching kindergarten or high school algebra – is a language teacher. This book explains what teachers need to know about language in order to be more effective in the classroom, and it shows how teacher education might help them gain that knowledge. It focuses especially on features of academic English and gives examples of the many aspects of teaching and learning to which language is key.

This second edition reflects the now greatly expanded knowledge base about academic language and classroom discourse, and highlights the pivotal role that language plays in learning and schooling. The volume will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators, professional development specialists, administrators, and all those interested in helping to ensure student success in the classroom and beyond.

Interpreting learners’ statements and actions and shaping productive experiences for them require an understanding of child and adolescent development and of how to support growth in various domains — cognitive, social, physical, and emotional. Teaching in ways that connect with students also requires an understanding of differences that may arise from culture, family experiences, developed intelligences, and approaches to learning. Teachers need to be able to inquire sensitively, listen carefully, and look thoughtfully at student work.

Teachers need to know about curriculum resources and technologies to connect their students with sources of information and knowledge that allow them to explore ideas, acquire and synthesize information, and frame and solve problems. And teachers need to know about collaboration: how to structure interactions among students, how to collaborate with other teachers, and how to work with parents to shape supportive experiences at school and home.

After reading “What Teachers Need to Know” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

Bilingual Education: Evaluation, Assessment and Methodology. During the 1970s two important projects in the field of bilingual education were mounted in Wales: the Schools Council Bilingual Education Projects in Primary and Secondary Schools, respectively. These two projects attracted the attention of educationists in various parts of the world where bilingual education is seen as the solution to a variety of political or social problems. This book brings together the evaluation by Professor CJ Dodson and the assessment by Dr. Eurwen Price of teaching methodology developed by Professor Dodson and used specifically during the Secondary School Project.

The notion that bilingual speakers function as two monolinguals is incorrect, and drawing comparisons between, or to have the same expectations of second language speakers and native first language or monolingual speakers is inappropriate. By now, our recognition and understanding that bilingual speakers have two languages that not only influence each other in different ways (e.g. by transferring grammatical structures and vocabulary from one language to the other; by promoting, enriching and sometimes slowing down the development and understanding of forms in one language or the other – see Cook, 1992), but also have a more universal effect on the individual’s cognitive system (see Thomas & Webb-Davies, 2017), forms a core part of the
thinking that underpins effective language pedagogy.

After reading “Bilingual Education Evaluation, Assessment and Methodology”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching is an extensive revision of this highly successful book. As in previous editions, both major and alternative approaches and methods are surveyed, with the section on current communicative approaches updated to include new material on CLIL, text and genre-based teaching. The book seeks not only to clarify the assumptions behind these approaches, and their similarities and differences, but also to help teachers explore their own beliefs and practices in language teaching. Further new material deals with other directions in language teaching, such as outcomes-based initiatives, to make this edition fully up-to-date.

Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the twentieth
century. The whole foundation of contemporary language teaching was
developed during the early part of the twentieth century, as applied linguists and others sought to develop principles and procedures for the design
of teaching methods and materials, drawing on the developing fields of
linguistics and psychology to support a succession of proposals for what
were thought to be more effective and theoretically sound teaching
methods.

Language teaching in the twentieth century was characterized
by frequent change and innovation and by the development of sometimes
competing language teaching ideologies. Much of the impetus for change
in approaches to language teaching came about from changes in teaching
methods.

After reading “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

There are countless theories and approaches to language teaching, and with so many different methodologies available it can be difficult for teachers to weigh up the pros and cons of each – or even to know where to start.  Written by an experienced teacher and researcher, ESL Teaching Books – Methods and Methodologies for Language Teaching takes a fresh look at ten approaches to classroom language teaching and learning. Each chapter includes suggested activities and further reading, presenting the origins and key features of each methodology before discussing its relation to assessment and learning outcomes. This is a clear, concise and context-driven introduction to teaching methods which reasserts the significance of methodology as a central pillar of language learning.

An essential guide for pre-service and in-service English language teachers.
There are countless theories and approaches to language teaching, and with so many different methodologies available it can be difficult for teachers to weigh up the pros and cons of each – or even to know where to start.
Written by an experienced teacher and researcher, Methods and Methodologies for Language Teaching takes a fresh look at ten approaches to classroom language teaching and learning. Each chapter includes suggested activities and further reading, presenting the origins and key features of each methodology before discussing its relation to assessment and learning outcomes. This is a clear, concise and context-driven introduction to teaching methods which reasserts the significance of methodology as a central pillar of language learning.

After reading “Methods and Methodologies for Language Teaching”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

Encyclopedia of Language and Education – In this second, fully revised edition, the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education offers the newest developments including two new volumes of research and scholarly content essential to the field of language teaching and learning in the age of globalization. In the selection of topics and contributors, the Encyclopedia reflects the depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of interdisciplinary perspective, and diversity of sociogeographic experience in the field.

Throughout, there is an inclusion of contributions from non-English speaking and non-western parts of the world, providing truly global coverage. The Encyclopedia is a necessary reference set for every university and college library in the world that serves a faculty or school of education.

The publication of the Encyclopedia of Language and Education signals the maturity of the field of `language and education’ as an international and interdisciplinary field of significance and cohesion. Each of the eight volumes of the Encyclopedia deals with a single substantial subject in the language and education field. In designing the volumes, the editors have tried to recognize the diversity of the field in their selection of contributors and their choice of topics. The contributors come from every continent and from more than 40 countries. Their reviews discuss language and education issues affecting every country in the world. The interdisciplinary nature of the Encyclopedia is further reflected in the relationship between volume titles and the major academic interests of their editors. A shared interest of all editors is of course the practice and theory of education itself.

After reading “Bilingual language program for babies”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

Teaching Languages to Young Learners – Recent years have seen rapid growth in the numbers of children being taught foreign languages at younger ages. While course books aimed at young learners are appearing on the market, there is scant theoretical reference in the teacher education literature. Teaching Languages to Young Learners is one of the few to develop readers’ understanding of what happens in classrooms where children are being taught a foreign language.

It will offer teachers and trainers a coherent theoretical framework to structure thinking about children’s language learning. It gives practical advice on how to analyze and evaluate classroom activities, language use and language development. Examples from classrooms in Europe and Asia will help bring alive the realities of working with young learners of English.

Recent years have seen rapid growth in the numbers of children being taught foreign languages at younger ages. While course books aimed at young learners are appearing on the market, there is scant theoretical reference in the teacher education literature. Teaching Languages to Young Learners is one of the few to develop readers’ understanding of what happens in classrooms where children are being taught a foreign language. It will offer teachers and trainers a coherent theoretical framework to structure thinking about children’s language learning. It gives practical advice on how to analyze and evaluate classroom activities, language use and language development. Examples from classrooms in Europe and Asia will help bring alive the realities of working with young learners of English.

After reading “Teaching Languages to Young Learners”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

Applied Linguistics Books – addresses the most pressing and controversial areas of contemporary language use, including intercultural communication, political and commercial persuasion, the impact of new technologies, the growth of English, language in education, and foreign language teaching and learning.

This clearly written introduction provides a concise but comprehensive overview of the main concerns of applied linguistics today.

Linking knowledge about the English language, how it is used, and the contexts in which it operates, this module explores the role of language in teaching and learning, business/professional communication, healthcare and many other real-life settings. You will develop a solid grounding in a range of ideas and techniques within applied linguistics (e.g. semantics, pragmatics, intercultural communication, conversation analysis, ethnography, language and globalization, role of technologies) and apply this to case studies from a variety of contexts. You will enhance your practical understanding of how such research and enquiry can be useful in different areas of life, including your own professional practice.

The tradition of applied linguistics established itself in part as a response to the narrowing of focus in linguistics with the advent in the late 1950s of generative linguistics, and has always maintained a socially-accountable role, demonstrated by its central interest in language problems.

Although the field of applied linguistics started from Europe and the United States, the field rapidly flourished in the international context.

Applied linguistics first concerned itself with principles and practices on the basis of linguistics. In the early days, applied linguistics was thought as “linguistics-applied” at least from the outside of the field. In the 1960s, however, applied linguistics was expanded to include language assessment, language policy, and second language acquisition. As early as the 1970s, applied linguistics became a problem-driven field rather than theoretical linguistics, including the solution of language-related problems in the real world. By the 1990s, applied linguistics had broadened including critical studies and multilingualism. Research in applied linguistics was shifted to “the theoretical and empirical investigation of real world problems in which language is a central issue.”

After reading “Applied Linguistics Books”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.