Category: ELT Book Reviews

ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue 43

ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue#43 | October 22, 2012 | ISSN 0975-3036 Video: Teaching Speaking with Task-Based Learning Book Review: ‘English Language Teaching: Perspective from Periphery (2012)’ by Anand Mahanand Webinar: A trip down the memory lane of methodology, November 29 Video: Jack C. Richards on Listening Comprehension Video: Seven Ways of Looking at Grammar Article: ‘Soft… Continue reading ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue 43

Vol. 4 Issue 43 – Video: Seven Ways of Looking at Grammar

What is grammar, and how is it internalized in the mind? Is it made up of symbolic code or of neural connections? Is it a sedimented trace left by previous conversations or an innate human capacity? Our answers to these questions obviously shape the way we go about teaching second languages.

Vol. 4 Issue 43 – Video: Teaching Speaking with Task-Based Learning

When students work on tasks in pairs or small groups, they use language at every step: planning, executing, and presenting. This demonstration shows students planning and describing their own Utopian societies.

Vol. 4 Issue 43 – Webinar: A trip down the memory lane of methodology, November 29

As we walk down the memory lane of English language teaching, we can see a correlation between the trends in the most popular language acquisition theories of its time, and the application of such assumptions into the language classroom. Whether it be Krashen’s ‘affective filter’ hypothesis translating into humanistic approaches, such as suggestopedia, or Searle’s speech acts giving rise to the functional syllabus, practioners have tried to apply theory to practice in a way that best helps learners to best acquire the language. But we don’t always get it right.

Vol. 4 Issue 43 – Book Review: 'English Language Teaching: Perspective from Periphery (2012)' by Anand Mahanand

There is a need to undertake serious research studies catering to the needs of these demands of the marginalized and underprivileged sections of our society. Proper Investigations are necessary to discover how far English Language Teaching (ELT) can be integrated with the indigenous culture of the learners, how far learners can be trained to use English for their academic purposes and how best literature can be used in English language teaching and learning. There are few books which address all the above issues as successfully and succinctly as Anand Mahanand’s ‘English Language Teaching: Perspective from Periphery’.

Vol. 4 Issue 40 – Book Review: ‘Epsilons and Deltas of Life – Every Day Stories Volume 1’ by Satish Bhatnagar – Reviewed by Abraham Panavelil

Professor Satish C Bhatnagar’s recent book captioned Epsilons and Deltas of Life is a collection of his reflections that he has compiled together in this volume. The title of the book at first arouses a lot of curiosity in the mind of the reader. But as the author himself says in his introduction, they are merely mathematical jargons, which may find a place in the English lexicon in the future. After all, this is how new expressions are coined and later they become part of the language. The subtitle of the book Every Day Stories clears all confusion in the mind of the reader. The book unravels daily, mundane episodes that may happen in the life of a ‘common man’ who is, in fact, the protagonist of this book. Though seemingly common, beneath the surface of the events narrated, the reader can feel a longing for human connection. We can see ourselves in this book.

ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue 33

 ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue#33 | August 13, 2012 | ISSN 0975-3036 Classroom Tip: Drawing dictation Video: Professor Farzad Sharifian: English as an International Language (EIL) 2011 Lecture Article: How Listening to Music Influences English Language Teaching Learning Video: Learner Language: Tools for Teachers | The New School International Conference On ‘Empowering The English Language Classroom’ At… Continue reading ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue 33

Vol. 4 Issue 33 – Book Review: ‘Hakuna Matata – Life is Calling’ – Dr.Krati Sharma

Hakuna Matata Life is Calling is a fiction which falls under the genre of Indian Writing in English. This fiction is a maiden attempt of Srinivas Yanamandra. He is a C.A. by profession and in his amateur attempt he proves that, he is well read author who is not only a keen observer but also possesses a lucid style.

Vol. 4 Issue 32 – Book Review: ‘An Unfinished Song’ – Dr.Krati Sharma

An Unfinished Song (1913) is a translated work by the writer Swarnakumari Debi Ghosal ‘s(1856-1932) Kahake(1898). The title of the novel exhibits the uneasiness of the writer to finish the destined song. The novel sets in the 20th century India a colony of British Raj. The novel revolves round an educated Bengali family consist of father Mr. Majumdar and his two motherless daughters.