The Practice of English Language Teaching
by Baron Halpenny, LincsMag Editor.
Date: 02 April 2012
LincsMag Star Rating: 
Author: Jeremy Harmer
Price: £32.60
Pages: 448 (plus DVD)
Format: 248 x 190 mm
Publisher: Longman ELT
ISBN: 9781405853118
English Language Teaching is a great and rewarding profession and if you’ve looked carefully at it or you just need some ideas to help you continue your professional development then The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th Edition) is what you need.
The author, Jeremy Harmer, is a well-respected expert in the English Language Teaching field and provides very thorough coverage of all the main issues in English Language Teaching in this book with a thorough and detailed explanation and approach.
Some of it I grant you can be a little long winded in its approach to providing information, which quite simply could have been cut down to easier to follow text. But that said Harmer does present clear explanations of theories and techniques along with examples to illustrate where needed.
The book gives what a new teacher would need in knowing about teaching the English language and for this reason it is an invaluable book that will be used and constantly referred to even when the newbie teacher is at their new teaching position and becomes more experienced.
An Interesting DVD
The DVD that comes with the book will be a blessing to new teachers, especially those just starting to train and have never had any classroom experience, as in the new edition it shows lessons conducted by different teachers and thus gives an idea to the styles of teaching.
The DVD has a clear menu guide and for each teacher there is:
* Meet the teacher
* Lesson story - (these are the clips from real classrooms showing how they teach)
* Interview - (between the teacher and Jeremy Harmer)
At the end of each teacher's example clip (refered to as the Lesson story on the DVD) there is then a one to one discussion between the teachers and Jeremy Harmer, which gives an insight into why they teach the way they do in the classroom. Naturally all teachers have their own methods and techniques, but to a beginner this is a very handy and confidence boosting DVD.
For those of you entering the profession and whose first language is not English, then the section of the DVD with the teacher, Silvana, will certainly interest you as she talks about being a 'non-native speaker' teacher of English.
Another point about the book of which is nice is the comparisons that the author makes between American and British English, which I am sure teachers in the profession will find this both interesting and informative.
This book is certainly essential reading for any new teachers, especially those studying to join the profession and is a useful tool for the experienced teachers as well.
Buying the book
You can buy The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th Edition) (With DVD) (Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers)
