How to teach English 的书评.doc

How to Teach English is a book designed for English teacher who was started his career, have less teaching experiences. The Author was completely introduced how to become a good teacher. It is an initial teacher training course.The book written by Jeremy Hammer contain several parts: first several chapter discuss the issue about teaching and learning: how to be a good teacher or a good learner? The author used many method to approach that, especially the interview. He adapt the interview of students who came from different nationalities, and he want to find out what the teacher should do. From varies of answer from the students, we can get the requirement that students proposed. It is really useful for young inexperienced teacher.Then the author looks at issues that helps teacher to manage class better-using their physical presence and voices, and organising the room and student in a variety of ways. And what is the good management. Many teacher should careful about their presence before class. Many teacher have their own physical characteristics and habits, and they will take these into classroom with them. But there are a number of issues to consider include: teacher should be conscious of their proximity; how closely you should work with student is a matter of appropriacy, and it is improtant to manage you class; also, the great movement and contact were initial process to get close to student.Overall, the book can be divided into three parts: fundamentals in language acquisition (chapters 1-5), teaching language skills (chapters 6-9), and considerations in language management (chapters 10-14). After these theory-based chapters, Harmer proposes a number of tasks for people reading the book to try and a set of tasks based on the DVD recordings. Additionally, the book includes four appendices (classroom equipment, interesting organisations and websites in the field, suggestions for further readings and phonemic symbols). The last two parts are a (quite useful) glossary and the index of the book.The theoretical information is provided in two different ways: as a whole (chapters 1-5) and at the beginning of each practical chapter. Chapters 1 to 5 illustrate topics such as the learners, the teachers, classroom management, theories of language learning, and language teaching and language description. Chapter 1 addresses the topic of learners and includes topics like reasons for learning, learner differences, motivation and responsibility of learning. Chapter 2 presents the main features of good teachers, stressing the idea that being a good teacher can be something natural (almost genetic) for some but also stating that training and practice refinement can play a crucial role for the rest (most of us, in fact). Harmer stresses the features that can be valuable in ELT like rapport, teaching skills, language knowledge, classroom management and more. He even wonders if ELT is art or science in the sense of whether teachers are born to be good teachers or they become so through constant training, personal learning and professional experience (p. 32-33). Chapter 3 provides information about classroom management, including the role of the teacher, using the voice, talking to the students, giving instructions, using the students first language in the classroom, and classroom seating and grouping arrangements. Chapter 4 describes elements and processes of language acquisition, language methodology and ideas about how to sequence the lessons and planning. Chapter 5 refers to the ideas of meaning in language, the relationship between forms and speech, discourse, language functions and markers. As opposed to Dickey, who believes that these first chapters were fairly standard in the previous edition, I would say that this text offers a good opportunity for those who may lack the knowledge in the field of language acquisition or applied linguistics to learn about these unavoidable factors that also influence language teaching.The second part of the book (chapters 7-10) includes ideas about teaching the four traditional skills: reading (chapter 7), writing (chapter 8), speaking (chapter 9) and listening (chapter 10). The third part deals with classroom management: using course books (chapter 11), planning lessons (chapter 12), a remarkable and exhaustive chapter on testing (13) and a brilliant chapter on special difficulties (chapter 14). The last includes issues such as mixed ability and large classes, use of L1 in the classroom, effects of and need for homework, cooperative language learning, classroom behaviour and classroom dynamics, including early finishers.Each chapter presents the same structure: learning goals, introduction, methodology or theory and some examples to guide the activities suggested later in the book. Also, every chapter concludes with a summary of the key issues in each chapter.I certainly agree to some extent with Dickey that the author, who positions himself in the post-method era, ignores in most content chapters his own list of elements of successful language learning However, I disagree with Dickey that these chapte