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The Primary English Teachers Guide

J. Brewster and G Ellis, with D. Girard

Pearson Education Limited 2002

ISBN: 0 582 44776 3

In the summer of 1993 I remember vividly sitting on my sofa and devouring The Primary

English Teachers Guide (Brewster et al: 1992), a gem of a book! I read it in an

afternoon, then reread most of it several times over the next few months while preparing

for my September challenge of teaching groups of pre-school children. It is a fantastic

book and it came out at just the right time, not just for me, beginning my career as a

serious teacher of young learners, but at a time when everybody needed a guiding hand.

It was the beginning of the boom.

A decade later I was asked to review the New Edition. A decade which has seen the

world of teaching young learners grow in leaps and bounds. The Brewster et al edition of

1992 coincided with a simple need to know. The New Edition takes us further, bringing

us up to date, not only telling us what we need to know, but also showing us why and

invariably where we can find out more. The authors describe the necessity for a rewrite

due to changes in development of new materials and resources, new research, new

applications of language learning theories and approaches, and a much greater awareness

of issues such as globalisation, multiple inteligences, and citizenship. The revised

edition is 45 pages longer and a bigger format too!

Those extra 45 pages include new chapters on language learning at primary level, how

children think and learn, teaching methodologies, learning to learn, development of the

four skills, English across the curriculum, resources and management skills for teachers.

As I read the New Edition, I couldnt help but rush to my smaller, now yellow paged,

favourite and check for bits I was sure I hadnt read. I happily rediscovered lots of

information my brain had autodeleted, and more still.

The New Edition is is divided into five parts:

Part 1: The Young Learner

This includes a short historical description of foreign language learning including the

recent European Year of Languages; a solid chapter on How children learn languages

describing the young learner, with information on L1 and L2 acquisition and newly

written descriptions of the major theories involved in this study. The authors have linked

this section very well, cross referencing ideas and information; and finally How children

think and learn.

Part 2; Teaching Learning and language Skills

This section covers the how of teaching, learning to learn, the skills, cross-curricular

English and culture. I especially liked chapter 5, Learning to learn and on page 61, the

authors have provided us with a very solid Plan Do Review model, first appearing

as figure 9 -A frame work for implementing learning to learn. This diagram is echoed

throughout the book and referred to again and again as a basic methodology for planning

teaching and learning. What is so good about this little recurring model is the simplicity

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with which it appears to fit into any context. It follows the typical three-stage structure of

a lesson, synonymous with pre-, while and post-, and supports not only the teachers

planning/teaching, but also the childrens learning as the two progress through a lesson.

This solution incorporates activities that easily encourage learning to learn, something

which teachers, especially newly trained ones, find difficult planning for.

Part 3: A world of Resources

In the section on discussing resources and their selection, nothing is left out. Selecting

course books is covered in detail, with lots of examples from recently published course

books. Songs, rhymes and chants have been given their own chapter, as have games.

Storybooks are also covered: a chapter full of ideas and as useful as ever. There is also a

chapter on technology - bravely attempting to harness a quickly changing field in

language teaching.

Part 4: Management Skills for Teachers

This section includes classroom management, lesson planning, assessment and record

keeping and interestingly, parental involvement. I really enjoyed reading the latter,

which is obviously based on techniques put into practice in the Young Learners Centre

in Paris, where one of the authors works. Not all the ideas are easily transferred to other

contexts, but it certainly left me with much food for thought. The assessment and record-

keeping chapter suggests several different techniques for assessing students, but

completely omits to mention the latest technique in this area, namely the language

portfolio.

The bibliography, or in this case reference section, is jam-packed full of good material

and I have starred several publications I would like to get hold of, and articles I need to

search for. However I was slightly disappointed by its organisation: my yellowed version

gives an appendix with references under useful subtitles; eg Grammar, Teaching reading

and writing etc. (pgs 229 238) but the New Edition lists the titles in alphabetical order

only.

The New Edition is publicised as being ideal for teachers, teacher trainers and trainees.

It is more intense, more formal: the authors quote from diverse sources, successfully but

academically supporting the information they give. To help the reader focus, several

chapters include a number of tasks. Simple, thought-provoking tasks which lead us into

the information which comes next and encouraging the reader to reflect regularly about

ones own context in relation to what one is reading.

Brewster & Ellis have done well: my library now holds two gems, a big one and a small

one!

References

Brewster, J., G. Ellis & D. Girard 1992 The Primary English Teachers Guide Penguin

English : Harmondsworth

By

Sandie Jones Mouro