Of course I believed him. So I purchased the book on paperback. The moment it arrived, I couldn't contain my excitement and started reading. Instantly, I noticed that the book is surprisingly easy to read.
Comprehensive Content But Leaves You Wanting or Needing More
Before we move on, let me give you a summary of the Chapters in the book so you'll know what to expect.
Chapter 1: Learners
Chapter 2: Teachers
Chapter 3: Managing the classroom
Chapter 4: Describing learning and teaching
Chapter 5: Describing language
Chapter 6: Teaching the language system
Chapter 7: Teaching reading
Chapter 8: Teaching writing
Chapter 9: Teaching speaking
Chapter 10: Teaching listening
Chapter 11: Using coursebooks
Chapter 12: Planning lessons
Chapter 13: Testing
Chapter 14: What if?
As you can see in the outline of the book's content above, Jeremy aims to equip you with the fundamentals of teaching the English language. He targets the four basic skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), teaches you how to use textbooks, teaches you how to manage small or large classrooms, and then teaches you how to plan lessons.
I used the term "fundamentals" because if you're expecting something comprehensive, you won't get it from this book. It actually leaves you wanting more. You'll realize eventually that you'll need other resources so you can master how to teach reading or even planning lessons.
For instance, Jeremy mentioned about Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Though he clearly explained this teaching approach, I had to use more resources to make sure I understood it perfectly.
But once again, I say this. Jeremy Harmer did a good job writing this as an introductory course / book.
Easy to Read Even for People with no Background in Education or ESL Teaching
As previously mentioned, the book is easy to read. Even if you don't have a background in education or ESL teaching, the book is not too technical. It's true that you'll encounter technical terms here and there, but Jeremy did his best coming up with a very simple explanation of teaching concepts.
Practical, Straightforward, and Easy-to-Do Techniques
I like the practical examples given on how to teach beginners, intermediate, and advanced students. In each of the four skills, Jeremy explains real-life examples, which you can easily adapt or use in your classes.
Can Be Adapted to Suit Online Classes
The book is designed for the adult learners. But you can always adopt and follow the same principles to effectively teach young learners as well.
The biggest question though is, can you apply these teaching techniques in your online classes?
The answer is a big fat yes.
For instance, Jeremy included a chapter on how to create lesson plans. I was able to use what I learned in the book to suit my online classes. Also, there's a section on building rapport. Before I would start my online classes, I made sure that my students are comfortable.
Some other important things I learned from Jeremy's "How to Teach English: New Edition," which I have adopted into my online classes include the following:
- teacher to student talk ratio
- the ESA method
- correcting students
