Rating: 
Summary: page 180
Review: Sound of end the -e
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent, Useful Supplement
Review: This is a well-organized, easy-to-understand tool for teachers and students that will serve as a helpful supplement to broad-based classroom instruction. (This evaluation of Azar's work is from the perspective of teaching EFL.)For learning and teaching language, linguists now largely agree that "research has failed to crown any single method as superior." At the same time, researchers assert that a multi-entry program is best, one that uses as many different and varied means as possible. Therefore, if we assume that each method and tool used inside or outside the classroom for learning language is just one small piece of a large collage of methods, we will find that nearly every kind of material and method has its place. To shrug off Azar's 'Basic English Grammar' by claiming that "It doesn't work" is to misunderstand its place in the classroom. For teaching conversation skills, it ought not in any way to be the bread and butter of a teacher's instruction; rather, interaction and dialogue that involve the five senses and (where appropriate) the whole body ought to have foremost priority. A heavy emphasis should be first placed on raw listening comprehension alone, afterwards on speaking; after that reading and finally writing. Once basic language skills have been developed in this way, teachers can introduce more formal instruction in grammar, using various exercises to practice new concepts. And that is the place for a volume such as Azar's. The exercises are varied (from cloze passages to fill-in-the-blanks to identifying errors to oral conversation to open-ended essays and more), and the book is thick with page after page of exercises that are extensive and repetitive - exactly as language learning should be. Because most of the exercises are written, in my case I do save this material for use only once or twice a week, or as supplementary homework for students to practice what they have already covered and practiced orally in class. In that case Azar is an excellent reinforcement for what students already know, and need be little more. Teachers of introductory English will need to be aware that the vocabulary in the exercises may be broader than their students are presently familiar with. Also, those teaching in non-English-speaking countries should be aware that some aspects of American culture found in the exercises may be difficult for their students to understand, and therefore the instructor will need to make adjustments accordingly. Overall, this is a helpful and enjoyable tool for training in good grammar skills.
Rating:
Summary: Very good basic skills for the foreign student.
Review: Very good manual for teaching the foreign student basic conversation and written skills.
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