Are there any books on the English Language you recommend reading prior to arriving in Thailand?
I need to brush up on everything so I am fully prepared.
Books on grammar/ pronunciation/ writing / reading / etc...
Moon Lander Champion!Theoretical:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Verbal-Behavior-B-F-Skinner/dp/1583900217/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239590523&sr=1-5]Amazon.com: Verbal Behavior: B. F. Skinner: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Language-Mind-Noam-Chomsky/dp/052167493X/ref=reader_auth_dp]Amazon.com: Language and Mind: Noam Chomsky: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Words-Rules-Ingredients-Steven-Pinker/dp/0060958405/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239590829&sr=1-5]Amazon.com: Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language: Steven Pinker: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Second-Language-Acquisition-Theory-Pedagogy/dp/0805816879]Amazon.com: Second Language Acquisition Theory and Pedagogy: Fred R. Eckman, Jean Mileham, Rita Rutkowski Weber, Diane Highland, Peter W. Lee: Books[/ame]
Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition
Practical:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=azar]Amazon.com: azar: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Book-Teachers-Course-Second/dp/0838447252]Amazon.com: The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course, Second Edition: Marianne Celce-Murcia, Diane Larsen-Freeman: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Ship-Sheep-Book-Audio-Pack/dp/052160673X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239591116&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Ship or Sheep? Book and Audio CD Pack: An Intermediate Pronunciation Course (Face2face S): Ann Baker: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Reading-Writing-Linguistics-Professional/dp/041598968X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239591164&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing (ESL and Applied Linguistics Professional Series): I.S.P. Nation: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Listening-Speaking-Linguistics-Professional/dp/0415989701/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239591164&sr=1-3]Amazon.com: Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking (Esl & Applied Linguistics Professional): I.S.P. Nation: Books[/ame]
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/ESL-EFL-Teaching-Principles-Success/dp/0325000794/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239591164&sr=1-2]Amazon.com: ESL/EFL Teaching: Principles for Success: Yvonne S. Freeman, David E. Freeman: Books[/ame]
"Discipline and Punish" by Foucault
"The Progressive Classroom" by John Dewey (or anything by him)
"Positive Classroom Discipline" by Fredric Jones
"Discipline through Democratic Teaching" by Rudolf Dreikur
"Instructional Management and Democratic Teaching" by Jacob Kounin
"Discipline as Self Control" by Thomas Gordon
"Noncoersive Discipline" by William Glasser
"Discipline with Dignity" by Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler ** The above books are an excellent introduction to teaching philosophy and methodology**
"Assertive Discipline" by Leo and Marlene Canter
"Transactional Analysis" by Eric Berne and Thomas Harris
**The above books are for those who like a more Draconian approach to teaching**
"The First Days of Teaching" by Henry Wong is also good.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Nice. Thanks guys
on an everyday practical level. Grammar in Use Raymond Murphy.
Too long in Exile, too long not singing my song.
Too long like a rolling stone, Too long in exile
Too long in Exile, baby you just arent my friend.
Too long in Exile my friend, Baby you can never go home again.
Don't overprepare. Make sure you smile a lot during your interview...it's appearance that counts in Thailand, not your ability to regurgitate grammar rules. If you smoke, don't carry your cigarettes in your front shirt pocket. As for books to read, how about "What Color is Your Parachute?" or some other book that will prepare you for a job outside teaching...you'll need it.
Training for Dummies by Elaine Biech.
Order this book NOW!. It is superb. The number of useful ideas contained in it is amazing. I cannot recommend it too highly.
I found Michael Swan's Practical English Usage good (International Students Edition, bought in Siam Square 399bht). I don't know if its the best grammar book but its very easy to find stuff when you need it. It was more than adquate for any grammar questions that arose teaching up to M6 students.
A book I've always kept at hand. And there's not a lot of point 'learning' grammar before coming - learn it as you come across it and need an answer.
I also used Jeremy Harmer's book about how to teach - this may be a better book to read before you start, and as you are learning, to teach
Last edited by Slim Chance; 13th April 2009 at 19:47.
Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener. I've read it 3 times and I cant recommend it enough.
Do you have coke?
Reading it for the second time at the minute! brilliant book.Originally Posted by Mr Pants
Can anyone recommend any good English language bookstores around BK to buy such books so I can go for a nosey?
^^The Scrivener book is absolutely the best book on teaching English that I've ever read. The only thing is that it's one of the required texts for CELTA, so it can be hard to find. I finally had to buy one from amazon for about $75.
Swan's grammar book is also great, and there's another really good one called An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage... [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Z-English-Grammar-Usage/dp/0582405742/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239635073&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage: Geoffrey N. Leech, Benita Cruickshank, Roz Ivanic: Books[/ame])
DK Books has everything. Problem is, it's physically located between Victory Monument BTS and Chidlom BTS, just off Ratchaprarop on a very non-descript street. There is also a DK Books in RCA across from the TOPS market (the one with the bowling pin on the top of the building).
Moon Lander Champion!
2nd'tid!!!
Training for Dummies is essentially a book for training adults in business and of no relevance to language teaching. Might be handy for someone who is an employee trainer of business people or professionals but not the EFL classroom. I took my Cert. Tesol seventeen years ago and read Harmer's book. Obviously in all that time I can't remember any of it. I recently did some voluntary teaching in a poor school in rural Thailand. They can't afford to pay native speaker teachers. I hadn't taught for seventeen years, then it was only a short summer school so you might say I was pretty green. Armed with two elementary course books, (one was New Headway) one work book, and a book of language games, I sallied forth. I made sure I had a lesson plan for each lesson so as to avoid finishing half an hour too early. I loved it and everyone wants me to return next year. One of the teachers said I was a very good teacher and I made the kids laugh. I made sure I emphasized continual reiteration of my model, insisted the kids spoke and spoke and spoke, something Thai kids don't do in the classroom, and I stuck rigidly to the lessons in the books including the exercises. What I am getting at is you can read as much as you like about language acuisition, pedagogics, epistemology, linguistic analysis and all the other ologies and it won't make a blind bit of difference in the classroom. When you walk into the classroom and the kids eagerly await your lesson (hopefully) all the science flies out of the window. You have one unique qualification, you are a native speaker of English. And you have a coursebook written by someone who really knows.
Swan is a great reference book and has stood the test of time.
Last edited by martyboy; 15th April 2009 at 14:04. Reason: alteration
Yes I'd go with that and the excellent Scrivener book.
I'd leave boning up on Chomsky until the holidays.
Posting Permissions
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Bookmarks