My First Passport 2 Book Review

Well I already did my first review on the My First Passport series and now it is time for the Volume 2 review. If you want to read the first one check this link.

http://fesjapan.blogspot.com/2007/02/my-first-passport-book-review.html

This review can be pretty short since the format is exactly the same as volume 1. One difference is the level of English. This book is much more difficult and might have been better off as volume 3 with an easier book bridging the gap which I feel is quite high.

Another new addition is the use of examples in the workbook. The workbook has the first problem completed for the student so it is easy for students to understand what they are supposed to do. This feature would have been more useful in the first book I feel, but better late than never.

One point I disliked was some of the listening exercises. One unit had some sentence part matching which made it very easy. Also, in general, the listening exercises are VERY long and have way too much information. This is not that bad however as you can ask extra questions to make it more challenging for higher level students and it teaches and important skill for listening for keywords and extracting only the relevant information.

A lot of lessons use advanced grammar such as comparatives, superlatives, past tense, and even present perfect tense. One unit I liked was using " going to ..." for future instead of the present progressive for future (i.e. I am playing tennis tomorrow). It is far less confusing. Passport does not explain grammar so it is up to the teacher to teach and expand upon the ideas presented.

Other than these minor points, it is in the same easy-to-use format of the passport series and a good book. Although aimed at younger learners (JHS or HS) this book can easily be used with advanced beginners. I feel another 8/10 for this book. I have used with about 10 people over the past 4-5 months and have really liked it.

Happy teaching and hopefully more book reviews to follow. Anyone who wants a book reviewed can make a request for a specific book or a specific skill (grammar book, listening practice book) can feel free to email me. If I do not have that particular book, you are out of luck unless you want to send me a copy.

More Kids' materials for my school

Well I am excited as I purchased some more book and things from www.nellies.jp. Purchases included some flip charts with vocabulary ranging from body parts, numbers. color, etc. All the basic stuff kids love and need. I also bought a magnetic calendar which can be arranged to be suitable for any month. It also includes spaces to put what day it is, the weather, season , etc. In addition, I bought some phonics wipe-off charts where the kids can play with as a whiteboard and I can erase( i.e. wipe off!) for later use. Finally I bought some alphabet tiles which can be put together like a jigsaw to spell whatever words that I want the kids to spell. I bought the lower case, word beginnings, and word endings sets. Some of the materials were a little bit pricey but in the end they will be well worth it. I even do some phonic work with adults as it helps with their pronunciation if they can learn the basic rules that native speakers take for granted.

I also bought another poster for the classroom and it will probably be my last as the walls of my classroom are just about full! I am always looking for great new materials for my classroom, especially for kids where a wide variety of materials keeps kids interested and motivated. I am hoping to get some more kid classes this year since I really enjoy them. Seeing students improve is great, and kids can improve so quickly!

西宮英会話 www.fesjapan.com