Without a doubt it’s very important to focus on reading skills when it comes to teaching middle to high school ESL students, especially those who already have a solid foundation in the language. English: An International Approach I understands the importance of developing one’s reading skills and offers everything students need to reach this goal.
Overview
In each lesson there seems to be a great deal of reading activities. There are about 2 or 3 different reading exercises in each unit followed by some critical thinking activities where students can work together and discuss what they have read. Each lesson also has some brief writing activities at the end of the chapter and occasionally some listening comprehension as well.
"The book has 10 units that cover some important topics like science, culture, school life, the community and more. There are also many diverse reading activities in the book which include poetry, stories, and informative articles."
As mentioned before, this book is very heavy on reading and writing material; students will come across a number of excerpts, passages, and stories throughout the entire book. The book has 10 units that cover some important topics like science, culture, school life, the community and more. There are also many diverse reading activities in the book which include poetry, stories, and informative articles. The book also provides students with comprehension and speaking exercises to encourage them to express themselves and practice putting what they’ve learned to use. The only downside to this book is that occasionally there are some reading exercises that may not be interesting to young learners (e.g. stories about history, literature from the 17th century); despite this fact, the book is very visually appealing and it has a lot of pictures and images to capture students’ attention as they work with each activity.
Pros:
· The book offers many critical thinking exercises to encourage students to express themselves.
· The reading activities in each chapter help students learn plenty of new vocabulary, common phrases and grammar structures.
· The majority of the stories and reading activities capture the students’ attention and are easy for students to relate to.
Cons:
· Occasionally, students will come across reading activities that aren’t very interesting or aren’t appropriate for their language level.
· The amount of reading activities can seem overwhelming to certain students.
Recommended For:
· Students who need to develop their reading/writing skills
· Large classes, since there are many group activities in the book.
Overall, this book is quite good despite its strong focus on reading comprehension. Although the information and activities in this book are very useful and practical, some complementary material would be needed in order to focus on all four language skills. This book is perfect for middle school and high school students; I would not recommend this book to the typical independent learner, but I would recommend it to ESL teachers who need material to complement their lesson plans.
