textbooks and puppets

TEXTBOOKS AND PUPPETS

TEXTBOOKS

The most obvious and most common form of material support for language instruction comes through textbooks. Sometimes new teachers, in their zeal for creating wonderful, marvelous written material for their students, neglect the standard textbook prescribed y the school curriculum and fail to see that this resource may actually be quite useful.

If there is no teacher’s edition, then your task becomes one of finding ways to present the content and exercises of the book to your class.

TEXTBOOK EVALUATION CHECKLIST

Goals of the course (Will this text help to accomplish your course goals?)

Background of the students (Does the textbook fit your student’s background) Age Native language Educational background Motivation or purpose for learning English.

Approach (Does the theoretical approach reflected in the book reflect a philosophy that you and your institution and your students can easily identify with? Theory of learning Theory of language

Language skills (Does the book integrate the “four skills” Does the textbook emphasizes skills which the curriculum also emphasizes? Listening Speaking reading writing

General content. (Does the textbook reflect what is now known about language and language learning? Validity—does the textbook accomplish what it is

purposed to? Authenticity of language Approppriateness and currency of topics,

situations, and contexts Proficiency level—is it pitched for the right level?

Quality of practice material Exercises—is there a variety from controlled to free? Clarity of directions—are they clear to both students and

teacher? Active participation of students—is this encouraged

effectively? Grammatical and other linguistic explanation—inductive or

deductive Review material—is there sufficient spiraling and review

exercises?

Sequencing (how is the book sequenced?) By grammatical structures By skills By situations By some combination of the above

Vocabulary (Does the book pay sufficient attention to words and word study?) Relevance Frequency Strategies for word analysis

General sociolinguistic factors A variety of English—American, British, etc. Cultural content—is there a cultural bias?

Format (Is the book attractive, usable, and durable?) Clarity of typesetting Use of special notation (phonetic symbols, stress/intonation

marking, etc.) quality and clarity of illustrations General layout—is it comfortable and not too “busy”? Size of the book and binding Quality of editing Index, table of contents, chapter headings.

Accompanying materials (Are there useful supplementary materials?) Workbook Tapes—audio and/or video Posters, flash cards, etc A set of tests

Teachers guide (Is it useful?) Helpful methodological guidance Alternative and supplementary exercises Suitable for non-native speaking teacher Answer keys

PUPPETS

Why are puppets useful in the primary EFL classroom?

Can be used for: Songs Stories Chants Roleplay Pairwork

PEDAGOGICAL AND LINGUISTICAL AIMS BEHIND USING PUPPETS For motivation: it is fun For meaning: listen with a purpose For fluency: to communicate, learn

new words For cross-curricular activities: they

can be used in most topic areas of the curriculum.

To teach vocabulary: parts of the face, etc.

O teach grammar: verbs, nouns, etc.

KINDS OF PUPPETS

o Hand puppeto Paper bag puppetso Worm or caterpillar puppetso Toilette roll puppetso Yoghur pot or plastic cup puppet o Fingere puppetso Masks