Cambridge University Press

Dictation contains a wealth of new techniques to extend the traditional language-learning activity of dictation. The authors present some thought-provoking answers to such apparently simple questions as: Who chooses the text? Who dictates? Who corrects? What and how do they correct? The activities range from traditional focuses on spelling and punctuation problems to exercise that emphasize personal attitudes and opinions of both teachers and students. Dictation provides: activities suitable for a wide range of levels and ages; example texts for many activities, with permission to copy; opportunities for students to create their own texts; a variety of suggested correction techniques; suggestions for using dictation in teacher training.

For the teacher who wishes to combine grammar teaching with a broadly communicative methodology, this book is an invaluable resource. It contains a collection of imaginative and interesting grammar practice activities suitable for a wide range of levels and ages. Part one provides: — a detailed introduction to grammar teaching; — guidelines for the design of activities; — practical hints on effective classroom presentation. Part two contains: — almost 200 game-like activities for practising important or problematical aspects of English grammar, with detailed descriptions of procedure — sample texts and visuals which may be photocopied for immediate use.

This is a practical guide to designing and using oral tests of language ability. It is for teachers, testers, course designers and educational planners. The organisation follows the sequence of stages in which a new testing programme would logically be carried out. It takes the reader through the testing process, giving practical examples and discussing the issues involved at each stage. Testing Spoken Language removes testing from the realm of the specialist and presents it as an integral part of a language learning programme. It describes the range of test-types and discusses their suitability for different aims and resources; lists over fifty oral test techniques and variations, with comments on each; integrates the marking system into the process of test design; and provides suggestions for monitoring and improving a test once it is in use.

This is a practical guide for practising teachers of English and teachers in training. It offers teachers a rationale and a variety of imaginative techniques for integrating literature work with language teaching. It is divided into three sections: Part I discusses the questions: Why teach literature? What should we teach? How should we teach it?; Part II outlines and illustrates a wealth of student-centred class and homework activities appropriate to each stage of the study of a literary work. Detailed descriptions of the activities are accompanied by numerous sample worksheets; Part III demonstrates techniques for working with complete texts, and shows how the activities outlined in Part II can be applied to particular novels, plays, short stories and poems. All activities described have been used successfully with a wide range of classes from intermediate level up.

This is a practical guide for teachers on how to select, organise and teach vocabulary to all levels of students. It discusses the linguistic and psychological theories relevant to vocabulary learning, describes with clear examples traditional and current methods of presentation and practice, and suggests ways of assessing and supplementing the vocabulary component of coursebooks. Working with Words is an ideal resource for practising teachers and teachers in training.

Recognizing that teachers are often involved in planning and developing courses as part of their responsibilities, the authors have set out to describe the factors which must be considered in constructing courses and materials. They cover: the fact-finding stage, establishing realistic goals, surveying existing programmes, realizing goals through instructional plans, selecting the shape of the syllabus, and considerations involved in constructing communicative curricula and syllabuses. All of these aspects are considered against current theories of language learning. Examples of different types of materials are discussed, and the process of creating materials is described as the link between the syllabus and the audience. It ends with a survey of the practical issues involved in organizing writing projects. It is intended for teachers (and teachers in training) who may be involved in course planning and materials development either on a larger scale, or simply within their own institution.

This book is designed to give language teachers a basis for introducing a cultural component into their teaching. The paperback edition is a collection of selected essays that attempts to provide language teachers with a basis for introducing a cultural component into their teaching. It includes essays written especially for the volume, as well as some that have been previously published.

This is a practical guide to communication activities in the language classroom, suitable for use with students from elementary to advanced level. Part I contains instructions for over 100 different exercises, including interviews, guessing games, jigsaw tasks, problem solving, values clarification techniques, mime, role play and story telling. For each activity, notes are also provided on the linguistic and educational aims, the level, organisation, time and preparation required. Part II contains the accompanying worksheets, which can be copied, making many of the activities instantly available for use in class. A comprehensive table of activities and an index are included for ease of reference.

In Foreign and Second Language Learning, William Littlewood surveys recent research into how people acquire languages and considers its relevance for language teaching. He describes the most important studies and ideas about first language acquisition, and how these have influenced and developed into studies of second language acquisition. He considers the background of language theories which were current before the present interest in acquisition research, and looks at factors such as learners' errors, whether learners are predisposed to acquire language in certain sequences, why some people are apparently more successful at learning languages than others, and how learners make use of their new language to communicate. The use of clear examples, the careful explanation and balanced commentary on the research enable the reader to evaluate the evidence and consider the relevance of work in this field to the day to day concerns of teaching and learning languages.

Teaching Listening Comprehension is about developing listening comprehension skills in the language classroom. In Part I, some essential background issues are dealt with. The author defines the characteristics of real-life listening, analyses the problems encountered by language learners, and discusses the considerations involved in planning successful classroom listening practice. Part II contains a wide variety of exercise types. The activities range in level from elementary to advanced and illustrate techniques appropriate for both adults and children. The exercises can be used as they stand or they can serve as models for teachers who wish to design their own materials.

Teaching the Spoken Language is about teaching the spoken language. It presents in a highly accessible form the results of the author's important research on teaching and assessing effective spoken communication. The authors examine the nature of spoken language and how it differs from written language both in form and purpose. A large part of it is concerned with principles and techniques for teaching spoken production and listening comprehension. An important chapter deals with how to assess spoken language. The principles and techniques described apply to the teaching of English as a foreign and second language, and are also highly relevant to the teaching of the mother tongue. The accompanying cassette contains extracts from original source recordings which are transcribed as examples in the book.

Accents of English is about the way English is pronounced by different people in diffeent places. Volume I provides a synthesizing introduction, which shows how accents vary not only geographically, but also with social class, formality, sex and age; and in volumes 2 and 3 the author examines in greater depth the various accents used by people who speak English as their mother tongue: the accents of the regions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (volume 2), and of the USA, Canada, and West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Black Africa and the Far East (volume 3). Each volume can be read independently, and together they form a major scholarly survey of considerable originality, which not only includes descriptions of hitherto neglected accents, but also examines the implications for phonological theory.

How can you make a discussion really work? What sort of activities produce genuine and enthusiastic exchanges of ideas? How can you prepare such exercises quickly and easily? These are some of the questions that Discussions that Work sets out to answer. The first part provides some general guidelines on the organisation of successful task-centred activities. The second part consists of some fifty practical examples which have been tried and found effective in the classroom. They range from fairly simple to complex and sophisticated, and can thus be used with a wide range of learners, from elementary to the most advanced, in both secondary and adult education.

This book is the first critical survey of the development and achievements of 'modern' Arabic poetry, here signifying the period from the latter half of the nineteenth century to the present day. It ranges over the entire Arabic-speaking world and includes a discussion of the work of poets who emigrated to the United States and Latin America. Four main stages are examined in the development of a specifically modern Arabic poetry: the 'neoclassical', in which poets turned to their literary heritage for their ideals and inspiration; the pre-romantic', which was marked by a tension between a modified classical style and new romantic sentiments, itself the reflection of a wider cultural movement towards change and modernization; the 'romantic', in which the tensions between form and content were resolved, and a lyricism and simplicity of language become the norm; and the 'modern' or 'contemporary' which is typified by a reaction against romanticism, and dominated by either committed social realism or symbolism and surrealism. In the absence of any similar published work in a European language, the book, as well as being designed for students of Arabic literature and of comparative literature, will also be of interest to the general reader. No knowledge of Arabic is presupposed: all the verse (newly translated by the author) is given in English translation, and technical terminology has been reduced to a minimum.

The initial steps which led to the founding of the great educational institutions of the world are known in very few instances. Seldom was any record even made of them, their significance not being recognized when the events occurred. The author of this work, Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed, was intimately connected with the persons and events involved in the founding of the University of Chicago in 1891. His detailed account of that institution's first twenty-five years, originally published in 1916, reveals that the chief participants were aware from the beginning of the magnitude and importance of their enterprise. As Goodspeed shows, once the main roles were cast — in the persons of John D. Rockefeller and William Rainey Harper — the University of Chicago was irrevocably headed for greatness. Without the support of both of these men it would never have become one of the nation's major universities in a mere quarter century. Although Harper died in 1906, his innovative mind and unflagging energy left an indelible mark on the university during the fifteen years of his presidency. The study provides detailed information on the founding of the university, the procurement of funds, the recruitment of faculty, the construction of buildings, student life, and the problems of continuing growth.

The Council of Europe released a preliminary version of the Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in 2003. A variety of institutions and individuals conducted case studies to pilot this draft version, prior to its revision in 2008/9. This volume features selected case studies presented at a colloquium in Cambridge in December 2007, where practitioners and academics shared their experiences of applying the Manual procedures. Projects included the linking of a single test to the CEFR, the linking of suites of examinations at different levels and large-scale national studies undertaken by examination boards and specialist research institutes. As well as describing their approaches and reporting their findings, contributors reflect and comment on their experience of using the draft Manual. An introductory chapter explains the development of the CEFR and the draft Manual, discussing their relevance for the future.

'Touchstone' is a ground-breaking new series that offers a fresh approach to teaching and learning North American English. It draws on the Cambridge International Corpus, a large data base of conversations and written texts, to build a syllabus based on how people actually use English. The series introduces unique conversation management strategies, places special emphasis on teaching vocabulary and vocabulary-learning strategies, and offers exciting ideas for personalized, learner-centered.

'Touchstone' is a ground-breaking new series that offers a fresh approach to teaching and learning North American English. It draws on the Cambridge International Corpus, a large data base of conversations and written texts, to build a syllabus based on how people actually use English. The series introduces unique conversation management strategies, places special emphasis on teaching vocabulary and vocabulary-learning strategies, and offers exciting ideas for personalized, learner-centered.

This second edition updates a course which has proven to be a perfect fit for classes the world over. Engaging content and a strong focus on grammar and vocabulary combine to make this course a hit with both teachers and students. Popular course features have been refreshed with new content, including the imaginative reading and listening topics, 'Culture in Mind', and 'Everyday English' sections. New for the second edition is a DVD-ROM with the Starter Level Student's Book containing games, extra exercises and videos featuring the photostories' characters as well as a 'Videoke' record-yourself function. There is a full 'Vocabulary bank' at the back of the book which expands upon lexical sets learned in the units.

English Unlimited is a six-level (A1 to C1) goals-based course for adults. Centred on purposeful, real-life objectives, it prepares learners to use English independently for global communication. The Cambridge online workbooks provide the course workbook content plus additional collaborative tools in a package that supports independent study and teacher-managed self-study. As part of a virtual learning world, the online workbooks allow students to collaborate and communicate, and enable teachers to track work and progress. They offer a classroom without walls for schools that wish to take their teaching into the digital age.

English Unlimited is a six-level (A1 to C1) goals-based course for adults. Centred on purposeful, real-life objectives, it prepares learners to use English independently for global communication. The Cambridge online workbooks provide the course workbook content plus additional collaborative tools in a package that supports independent study and teacher-managed self-study. As part of a virtual learning world, the online workbooks allow students to collaborate and communicate, and enable teachers to track work and progress. They offer a classroom without walls for schools that wish to take their teaching into the digital age.

English Unlimited is a six-level (A1 to C1) goals-based course for adults. Centred on purposeful, real-life objectives, it prepares learners to use English independently for global communication. The Cambridge online workbooks provide the course workbook content plus additional collaborative tools in a package that supports independent study and teacher-managed self-study. As part of a virtual learning world, the online workbooks allow students to collaborate and communicate, and enable teachers to track work and progress. They offer a classroom without walls for schools that wish to take their teaching into the digital age.

English Unlimited is a six-level (A1 to C1) goals-based course for adults. Centred on purposeful, real-life objectives, it prepares learners to use English independently for global communication. The Cambridge online workbooks provide the course workbook content plus additional collaborative tools in a package that supports independent study and teacher-managed self-study. As part of a virtual learning world, the online workbooks allow students to collaborate and communicate, and enable teachers to track work and progress. They offer a classroom without walls for schools that wish to take their teaching into the digital age.

English Unlimited is a six-level (A1 to C1) goals-based course for adults. Centred on purposeful, real-life objectives, it prepares learners to use English independently for global communication. The Cambridge online workbooks provide the course workbook content plus additional collaborative tools in a package that supports independent study and teacher-managed self-study. As part of a virtual learning world, the online workbooks allow students to collaborate and communicate, and enable teachers to track work and progress. They offer a classroom without walls for schools that wish to take their teaching into the digital age.