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Featured New Titles

Fantastic new CLIL / ELT Resources

Cambridge English for...Job-hunting takes learners through the process of seeking and gaining employment in a clear, accessible way that is packed with useful content.

Topics include researching the market, dealing with competence-based interview questions and negotiating terms and conditions of service

Some of the best features of this excellent book are:
  • Use of authentic materials and models
  • Extensive practice through role plays and student-centred activities
  • Clear layout
  • Consistent attention to personalization
  • Model responses and focus on common mistakes
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Appendix includes: 50 most common interview questions
To view the Table of Contents click here.
 To view all of Unit 1 click here.

There is also a free online teacher's book complete with extensive background information, useful web links and extra printable activities. This teacher resource will be available by the end of January, 2009.


ELT for Nursing

Cambridge English for...Nursing is designed to improve communication skills and specialist language knowledge within the context of nursing practice.

Along with all of the excellent methodology best practices noted above, each unit contains:
  • Listening activities reflecting everyday scenarios
  • A strong focus on functional language and communication
  • Medical focuses
  • Charting and documentation
  • Abbreviations and acronyms
Topics covered include patient admissions, wound care, medication, pre-and post-operative patient care and medical specimens.

To view the Table of Contents click here.
To view Unit 1 click here.

This book also features a free online glossary with a pronunciation guide.

Features of this Series

Although written for the British market, the approach is very international and generic.  All areas of language, skills and content are appropriate for the North American job-hunting sector.

While there is a slight predominance of British accents, the accompanying CD provides a wide range of accents (mainly North American and European) and a mix of native and non-native speakers.

To see how ELT students and teachers will feel when they get these resources to work from, (or if you just like watching singing cats) click here.

Coming soon...in early 2009

  

Click on the book covers to view more information, contents and sample units.

Q & A

Provocative and Fun Speaking Practice

This month we look at the question of keeping students engaged in language practice.

Coursebooks often don't fill all the need there is for freer spoken practice of language.

Many folks also despair that critical thinking skills and genuinely intellectually challenging materials are also scarce.  

Despair no longer - we've found two more goodies for you to have a look at!


Challenge to Think

Challenge to Think
Written by Rinvolucri, Frank and Berer and originally published by OUP in 1982, this book was rescued from the dead files in 2008 by ELB Publishing.

The back cover states, "Provocative, amusing, controversial, baffling. Challenge to Think is a fascinating compendium of English language puzzles, problems, thinking games, questions and issues to give intermediate students practice in vital language skills." And after trying to find a way of saying it better - we simply gave up.  It is what it says.

Clearly this need from 20 years ago remains today, but it's the creativity and inspiration that went into this book that continues to make it a must-have on our shelves.

Highlight feature
The section on sensitizing students to the relationship between pronunciation, context and meaning. Haven't seen anything like it in any other book. It is still unique and truly wonderful material.

The Q Book

Another one from the pen of Rinvoucri, the Q Book focuses on using interrogatives for real communication.

The book has a clear humanistic feel with high levels of personalization. The authors were clearly encouraging students to take risks as the activities demand spontaneity and originality.

Highlight feature
Be sure to look at the unit called Values. It offers great opportunities to explore cultural similarities and differences in respectful and neutral ways.


New Location -
Same building, no stairs!

Renovations have stayed true to the nature of renovations. We don't think we need to call Mike Holmes just yet, but we can now add our story to the countless millions whose unfulfilled renovation deadlines have come and gone too.

We have been assured we'll be fully ensconced in our new premises by the 12th, but until then we are still operating normal business services upstairs.

Please note that our email addresses have changed too. Anyone wishing to get in touch can reach us at: info@englishcentral.net.

For those not too far from us, keep an eye out for a dedicated opening celebrations email. We hope many of you will be able to join us in our grand opening festivities in February!

Other New Titles

New Business English Readers

      

Written by James Schofield and published by Summertown, this new series of readers is aimed specifically at learners studying business English.

These book are offered at three levels and all strive to recycle language learned from business English coursebooks, like the 50 Ways to Improve... series.

The two current titles:

Peril in Venice

Ekaterina

offer skimming and scanning questions at the start of every chapter along with a glossary and full audio CD.

These books are perfect for those business students who would like to continue recycling their vocabulary and improving their reading skills, but through a more relaxed and enjoyable format.

Like any good airport novel, they centre on mystery and intrigue and  they are genuinely well-written and fast-paced little reads.

Just think John Grisham meets ESL...in 80 pages or fewer.

Cool Websites

Canadian Language Benchmarks &
Essential Skills in the Workplace

Keeping in the theme of new employment horizons, the website ITSESSENTIAL has some very good stuff for LINC, ELT and anyone teaching business English.

This site's focus is mainly assisting employability and highlights include:
  • downloadable lesson plans for various occupations
  • great HRDC materials
  • a guide to Canadian business etiquette and workplace manner
  • a new corporate site - NortelLearnIT
  • great new online resources

Online Training Modules

For those of you interested in  professional development courses focusing on teaching newcomers to Canada, check out these online training modules offered by Settlement at Work.

Topics include:
  • Using new Media Technologies with our Newcomer Clients
  • Family Violence against Immigrant and Refugee Women: Community Development strategies
For anyone teaching LINC, newcomers or Business English for Canadian employment, this site could offer you lots of useful information and even better...new resources!

Teaching Tips 101

New Year's Resolution for Effective Learning Habits

With the start of a new year and another new session of teaching, it's hard not to feel the call to focus on New Year Resolutions.

Resolutions may be something of a cliché, but visualization and positive projections of an 'English Learner self' (Z. Dyornei 2008) are both theories showing very significant outcomes on learner motivation levels.

Help your students visualize 2009 as the year of success by passing on the following habits of successful learners (as adapted from Impact Words and Phrases)

Seven Habits of Effective Language Learners

Successful learners...

talk to themselves in English

get other people to talk (ask questions!)
 
will try new ways of learning
 
set weekly goals for each skill
 
use visualization to prepare
 
use body movements to help them remember
 
keep a record of their learning (journal / vocabulary log)

As for us, the teachers...
keeping our levels of enthusiasm high, voicing genuine encouragement and enabling students to set effective goals will go a long way to helping those students who are trying to help themselves.

Educator's Quote

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men of talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

~Calvin Coolidge
 

Copyright (C) 2009 English Central. All rights reserved.

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