An English textbook over 60-years-old has belatedly gripped Koreans eager to learn the language.
The book "English Restart" has been sold in more than 40 countries around the world since being introduced by influential English literary critic I.A. Richards, a professor at Harvard University back in 1945.
The picture-heavy publication features simple words, phrases and sentences without translations, unlike most contemporary English textbooks that often overwhelm readers with too much information.
Fans of "English Restart" are drawn to its simplicity and straightforwardness, and the recent upsurge in the books popularity has been amazing. Many readers rave about how it is helping them learn English in a short time span.
The book's local publishers are astounded by the response to the revived edition, with people clamoring for additional editions.
One domestic internet survey group says this is the first time an English textbook has become a bestseller in Korea. To date, the book has been on the bestseller list since July.
HT to Galbijim. It's important to always try new things as a learner, but I don't get the need for all kinds of fancy gadgets and gimmicks when a little bit of effort will go a longer way. I've likened some of these gimmicks to using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito, especially when many students in the public schools have very little in the way of functional English, and I think a lot of students and coworkers would benefit greatly from a little time in front of a simple, bare-bones phrasebook like this. More importantly, they would benefit from an interest in learning and actually using the language, rather than simply paying it lip service.
The book must have been modiified into a series, since I found both "basic" and "advanced" editions. Here are some pictures of the advanced one, click to enlarge:
And here are pages 22 and 23 from the "basic" one, with plenty more here:
3 comments:
Anyone who comes up to me and tells me they have a desire for a cat is going to get a very strange look from me...
When I was doing my BEd, we had to study obsolete methods of ESL teaching. Certain methods, such as listen-and-repeat and grammar translation, are no longer used in many countries as they have been proven time and time again to actually impede acquiring the target language. These highly inefficient methods mean that the learner puts an incredible amount of energy for a very small amount of actual learning. Sound familiar?
Having said that, the simple drawings of the hat on the table would be appropriate for beginners, depending on *how* they are used.
Sometimes, I think that certain Korean teachers want to "test" the Native speakers to either prove how much they know or to trip us up to drive home the point that some ESL teachers here are seriously lacking in grammar skills (your/you're springs to mind immediately). I quite happily made one teacher back down when she asked me to explain how two similar sentences were really quite different (as she believed). Simple explanations didn't suffice, so I began parsing the sentences, all the while giving very complex explanations of everything (saying "the adjectival phrase" instead of "describing word" for example) until she just stormed off.
The advanced book is pretty awkward, though it illustrate grammar pretty well. I'd like to look through the beginners' book more. Those drawings are nice and would be excellent for worksheets and flashcards. The absolute crap illustrations you find on ESL sites was a constant source of frustration when I was in an elementary school. I don't remember what I was looking for---verbs, I think---and I couldn't find anything that wasn't either intricately drawn or wasn't absolutely ridiculous.
My point with stressing simplicity is that I feel there's no need to go overboard with gimmicks when all the students are doing is learning the basics. A little effort would go a long way. I mean, if you ever go to those demonstration classes and see the hours and hours spent on cards, powerpoints, illustrations, videos, etc., when a simple worksheet and diagram would suffice (yes, demo classes are a horse of a different color, but it illustrates the point). The big lessons you put together, such as those on animals, are good if you're getting into more detail, and seem to work for getting students interested. But, I mean, when students have been studying for 6 or 7 years and still struggle with greetings, pronouns, and simple vocab, it's time to get back to basics.
Incidentally, any chance you'll be posting that animal module?
Ms. Parker, nice. At my old hagwon we called that type of Korean student or co-teacher a "Teacher Tester."
If you have ever been asked the difference between "over" and "above" by a student who obviously doesn't really care what the answer is -- and just wants to see you struggle to answer -- you have met a teacher tester.
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