Book Reviews

Professional Development of Core French Teachers. National Core French Study by CASLT
by Dalton London, professor - UNB (Vol. 43, no. 3, 1988)

Research in Core French: National Core French Study by CASLT
by Dalton London, professor - UNB (Vol. 45, no. 2, 1989)

A Student's Guide to French Universities by R. Cousins,
R. Hallmark & I. Pickup

by Dalton London, professor - UNB (Vol. 47, no. 2, 1991)

Propositions en vue d'une pédagogie de la grammaire by A.-M. Boucher
by Dalton London, professor - UNB (Vol. 43, no. 3, 1988)

Traité de correction phonétique ponctuelle by Jean-Guy Lebel
by Dalton London, professor - UNB (Vol. 51, no. 2, 1995)

Jargon: Its uses and abuses by Walter Nash
by Paula Kristmanson, research officer - SLEC (Vol. 51, no. 2, 1995)

Book reviews published in the Canadian Modern Language Review / La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes

Making it Happen: Interaction in the Second Language Classroom

This textbook moves from the theories of language acquisition to practical aspects of second language teaching. Of particular interest to teachers is the section dealing with methods and activities. These seven chapters describe second language teaching approaches as well as discussing ideas for integrating music, drama, and games into the language classroom. One particularly interesting chapter deals with ways to promote literacy development in which the author shows concrete ways to incorporate literature in the second language classroom. Another very effective feature of this text in terms of the professional development or pre-service context, are the "questions to think about" at the beginning of each chapter. These questions allow the reader to reflect on their prior knowledge of the topic thereby encouraging more relevant and thoughtful reading and discussions.

Author: Patricia A. Richard-Amato
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Longman
White Plains, NY

Second Language Practice: Classroom Strategies for Developing Communicative Competence

This edited collection features 13 articles focused on various aspects of language learning and teaching. Themes include listening comprehension, comprehensible input, communicative strategies, group work, error correction, and evaluation. The book is divided into levels (basic - level 1 & 2, intermediate - level 3 & 4, advanced - level 5) in that the articles are categorized by the level for which they are most appropriate. The philosophy of this collection is that "there is more than one way to get students to develop communicative competence." These articles do indeed show the diverse strategies that are available to teachers and students in the second language learning environment. All of the articles included in this edited text are practical in orientation. Although all the articles have a basic theoretical framework, they all focus on classroom practice by including numerous examples, cases, ideas, approaches, and activities. A useful resource for a teacher of second language.

Author: Georges Duquette
Publisher: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall
Victoria Rouad, Clevedon
Avon, England, BS21 7SJ

Teacher's Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction

The "Teacher's Handbook" is true to it's title in that it is an excellent resource for teachers of second and foreign languages. Written in a teacher-friendly manner, theory is supported by numerous practical applications and examples. Each chapter (chapter themes include: interactive speaking, process writing, student diversity, testing and technology) concludes with questions and case studies which encourage meaningful reflection and discussion. As the book jacket states; "the goal of this book is to help readers examine and apply theory through practice... and to ultimately develop their own approaches to teaching." This textbook has been used successfully with student teachers and would prove to be a highly effective resource for teachers as well.

Authors: Judith L. Shrum and Eileen W. Glisan
Publisher: Heinle and Heinle Publishers
20 Park Plaza
Boston, MA, 02116
(1-800-237-0053)
ISBN: 0-8384-40614

The Handbook of Funding Opportunities in the Field of TESOL

This recent publication is a wealth of information for those educators involved in second language research. It contains a comprehensive list of agencies, foundations, and programs which award grants, fellowships and prizes for work in various areas of social sciences. In particular areas of academic interest related to language, culture, linguistics, and teaching are the focus of this resource for professional researchers. TESOL Inc., the publisher of this text, is included in the list of potential funding agencies. In addition, sponsors such as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as well as a variety of international organizations (e.g., Embassy of Japan, International Research and Exchanges Board). Funding opportunities range from small grants to recognize particular achievements to full support for large scale research projects.

Authors: Stephen Stoynoff and Terry Camacho
Publisher: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
1600 Cameron St., Suite 300
Alexandria, Virginia, 22314, USA
Tel 703-836-0774, Fax 703-836-7864
E-mail: tesol@tesol.edu, internet http://www.tesol.edu
ISBN: 0-939791-74-9

French Second Language Education in Canada

Edited by Sharon Lapkin of the University of Toronto, this textbook looks at four major areas of FSL Education: FSL outcomes in Core and Immersion, Classroom Studies, Professional Development, and Social and Administrative Aspects of FSL education. This collection is a varied compilation of recent research and includes both qualitative and quantitative studies. Of particular interest to teachers, may be the classroom-based research which examines topics such as writing processes, grammar teaching, and interactive listening. FSL supervisors may be interested in the discussions involving in-service and pre-service training of FSL teachers. More specifically, themes such as washback, curriculum design, and distance education are examined. Included in this collection of 13 articles, is a chapter by Joe Dicks and Sally Rehorick on the Maritime Oral Communication Assessment Portfolio. This chapter describes developmental phase of the project and shows how this process was an instrument of positive change. Other authors who have contributed to the informative collection of empirical studies include Sharon Lapkin, Roy Lister, Sirgit Harley, Laurens Vandergrift and Doug Hart.

Editor: Sharon Lapkin
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario
ISBN: 0-8020-4333-X

New Ways in Teaching Adults - (part of New Ways in TESOL Series II: Innovative Classroom Techniques)

This collection features ideas contributed by experienced teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from all over the world. The way in which this text is organized makes it very easy to read and to use. The activities are divided into 10 sections (e.g., academic material, word prompts, worksheets to complete) and each is described in terms of the level of English for which it is most appropriate (beginner to advanced). Another extremely helpful aspect of this text are the pedagogical notes related to the objectives, class time, preparation time and resources needed.

The section called nonverbal stimuli is particularly interesting as the activities contained therein are very communicative and experiential in nature. Each task uses some sort of image (e.g., street signs, maps, video, comic strips) as the basis for stimulating language use. Another very useful and relevant section relates to the news. All of the tasks in this section are centred around developing language competency through the use of various sorts of news media (e.g., newspapers, radio, television). All of the activities contained in this collection could, in fact, be used by teachers of any second language.

Editors: Marilyn Lewis (Series Editor: Jack, C. Richards)
Publisher: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
1600 Cameron St., Suite 300
Alexandria, Virginia, 22314, USA
Tel 703-836-0774, Fax 703-836-7864
E-mail: tesol@tesol.edu, internet http://www.tesol.edu
ISBN: 0-939-791-68-4

Seven Ways of Teaching: The Artistry of Teaching with Multiple Intelligences

Seven Ways of Teaching is a collection of teaching lessons based on the Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. The book is organized into lessons which focus on the development of a certain intelligence (e.g., verbal/ linguistic, logical/ mathematical, visual/ spatial, body/ kinesthetic, musical/ rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal). The interesting feature of the lessons is that each one relates to a subject matter that would, at first glance, seem to be unrelated to the given intelligence (e.g., a history lesson with musical/ rhythmic intelligence or a social studies lesson with logical/ mathematical intelligence). Because the lessons are planned in this manner, it reinforces one of the key principles of applying multiple intelligences theory to classroom teaching- teachers can encourage the use and development of all 7 intelligences in any subject area. It also points to the value of an integrated curriculum- an approach supported by current research in second language teaching. The author of this book had as his objective "to reach all students sitting in our classrooms" and to help find the "giftedness of every child". A teaching philosophy, such as this one, which reflects diversity in the classroom is certainly a key step in this direction. Resources like "Seven Ways of Teaching" can be extremely useful to teachers who share this thinking.

Editor: David Lazear
Publisher: SkyLight Training and Publishing Inc., 2626 S. Clearbrook Dr., Arlington Heights, IL, 60005
800-348-4474 (Tel.), 847-290-6609 (Fax)
ISBN: 0-932935-32-X

Summarizers (Activity Structures to Support Integration and Retention of New Learning) and Activators (Activity Structures to Engage Students' Thinking before Instruction)

These two books are invaluable resources for teachers who use a cooperative and experiential approach to learning. Activators are warm-up type activities which encourage students to "become cognitively engaged and focused." Through various types of brainstorming, students discover what they may already know about the theme or topic being introduced. Summarizers are closure type activities which encourage learners to "construct personal meaning" and internalize knowledge and skills. These engaging tasks require learners to reflect on past learning and apply it to another context. Easy-to- follow and practical, these books contain excellent ideas for second language teachers.

Authors: Jon Saphier and Mary Ann Haley
Publisher: Research for Better Teaching, Inc., 1 Acton Place, Acton, MA, 01720-3945, USA

Making the Link: Teacher Professional Development on the Internet

As the title suggests this book focuses on helping educators use the internet for professional development purposes. All potential sources of internet information (e.g., e-mail, newsgroups, mailing lists, worldwide web) are touched on in this detailed guide for teachers. For educators looking for a means to do self-directed professional development, this book points to an option with plenty of potential. In particular, the section entitled "Doing research on the internet" provides several helpful tips to effectively explore the WWW. In addition, this book points to ways of creating "virtual communities" which allow teachers to share information and ideas. "Making the Link" also has an internet site which will provide more details on this resource: http://www.edu.yorku.ca/MTL

Author: Ron Owston
Publisher: Heineman, 361 Portsmouth, NH, 03801-3912
ISBN: 0-325-00077-8

 

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