Digging for gemsThis collection of papers on global EAPcontains some real nuggets, argue George and Geraldine Kershaw, but too much history

Reviews by Pete Sharma for the Bournemouth English Book Centre

BOOK OF THE MONTH

www.bebc.co.uk

REVIEWS IN BRIEF with the Bournemouth English Book Centre

EAP AND ESP IN DEVELOPING COUN-TRIES: CURRENT STATE OF PLAY VS ACTUAL NEEDS AND WANTS (Garnet Education) Edited by Mark Krzanowski, 1901095177

We picked up this volume in the hope that at last here was a col-lection of papers that would address the needs of EAP and ESP teachers in developing and emerging countries – after all, that’s what it says on the tin. But closer examination reveals an edited collection of papers from a conference, some of which address the theme only tangen-tially. That said there are some gems hidden within its pages.

The book has chapters by authors working in a range of countries: seven chapters from Africa, but only one from a coun-try where English has no official status; three from south Asia; five from south east Asia; two from Brazil; three from the Mid-dle East. The choice of papers seems arbitrary, the unifying fac-tor being that most were presented at the Iatefl 2006 ESP SIG pre-conference event.

Nine chapters – almost half – present a historical overview of English language teaching and learning (in the case of Ghana, beginning in the 1550s). In some cases this will be helpful to the

reader interested in language education policy but in other cases, for example chapter four on ESP in Brazil, the detail may be excessive. Other chapters present descriptive overviews or case studies of recent projects; for example chapter one describes a project to teach technical Eng-lish in Angola; chapter five recounts a business English in Burma; chapter 15 describes a project to teach English to Fili-pino care-workers in Japan; and chapter 18 describes a pre-ses-sional course at Nelson Mandela University, RSA. These chap-ters would have benefited from stronger editorial guidance to make the discussion section more useful to readers who work in other contexts.

India (population 1.2 billion) merits only seven content pages whereas Kenya (population 38 million) is the longest article in the book at 21 content pages. The content of the two chapters on Brazil overlaps. Mack’s somewhat emotional Angolan case study is actually about ESP (training car mechanics) while Rahman’s fascinating account of language policy in Bangladesh barely mentions EAP/ESP until the final sentence of its conclud-ing paragraph.

Chapter 13 – ‘Teaching “the other English” for communica-tion in Nigeria’ describes arguments for and practice in

teaching Nigerian English at school level; neither EAP nor ESP is mentioned.

Where then are the gems? Some contributors offer genu-inely interesting insights which deserve our attention. In her chapter on ESP in Brazil Rosinda Ramos clarifies the reasons why so much academic ESP gets bogged down in reading. Ehya Amalsaleh and Hojatollah Yamini (Iran) report on an inter-esting study of methodology for teaching EAP writing, although the results are somewhat incon-clusive. In chapter 21, ‘Burying the ghost of English in Zambia’, Bernard Nchindila reviews the process of language policy change in Zambia, a process he feels was not grounded in solid research. He goes on to chal-lenge ‘applied linguists to protect the sanctity of research validity and reliability if language research has to serve the purpose of transforming society’. Donors such as the UK’s Department for International Development as well as applied linguists should take note.

This volume could be of use for people planning to work in one of the countries represented in its pages as the historical reviews provide useful back-ground information. If you search, there is interesting com-ment on language policy developments in some countries.

BUSINESS ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRACTICE(Delta Publishing) Susan Lowe and Louise Pile9781905085293

This is the latest book in the Business Communication Skills series. Previous titles explored emailing, telephoning and busi-ness skills. This book focuses on two key areas: grammar and vocabulary. Each area contains 12 two-page units of practice activities. The grammar section looks at tenses, modals, condi-tionals and passives. The vocabulary section looks at job

areas such as finance, human resources and marketing, and topics such as meetings and projects.

The book provides a wide variety of activity formats including matching exercises, gap-fills and crosswords. Gen-erally, these activities are engaging, requiring learners to think. Some activities may have a narrow appeal, such asthe word searches. The vocabulary reference section should prove of real use to learners at pre-intermediate or intermediate level.

This slim (80 page) A4-size book in black and white also contains some great business cartoons; it provides solid lan-guage practice and is definitely worth investigation.

NEW INSIDE OUT UPPERINTERMEDIATE(Macmillan) Sue Kay and Vaughan Jones,9780230009141

The well-known author team emphasise this updated course book’s commitment to ‘mean-ingful’ presentation, practice and communication. The twelve units provide lessons which should certainly stimulate and engage. The ‘vocabulary extra’ pages are a highlight in this edition; they tie in with the Macmillan Eng-lish Dictionary. The vocabulary covered in the book is stretching and appropriate for upper inter-mediate students. The video on

the CD-Rom is great quality; the cartoons are genuinely funny. Those familiar with this series know what to expect; they won’t be disappointed. Recommended.

WORD KNOWLEDGE (OUP) Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman, 9780194703932

This handbook explores the ‘life-long adventure of word learning’. This phrase gives us a valuable insight into the content of Word Knowledge. The seven chapters examine what is involved in learning a word, including collo-cation, connotation and register. The book describes how students often gain a ‘partial knowledge’

of a word. The fi nal chapter offers some great ideas on stor-ing vocabulary, although there is no reference to electronic stor-age of lexis. The diagrams used throughout are helpful. The text is sprinkled with tasks which defi nitely engage the reader. Humorous anecdotes precede each chapter. This slim book (154 pages) is short (frequency could be covered in more depth) yet packed with useful informa-tion and practical teaching ideas. The enthusiasm and knowledge of the author shine through.

SPOTLIGHT ON CAE(Heinle Cengage Learning) Francesca Mansfi eld and Carol Nuttall, 9781424060757

This attractive new course book begins with an extensive overview of the Certifi cate in Advanced English examination. The sixteen units contain seven strands: vocabulary and gram-mar, the four language skills and a useful section covering guide-lines for the use of English. The two highlights of this book are the writing guide and the vocab-ulary organiser sections, which are tied in with the Collins COBUILD advanced diction-ary. The range of topics covered, from DNA testing to the history of the earth, is quite outstanding. The range of course components is extensive, and includes online self-study support. There is an essential introduction to the exam. Solid.

communication made easy www.helblinglanguages.com

Innovis House108 High Street

Crawley, West SussexRH10 1AS - UK

sales@helblinglanguages.com

www.icefonline.com

ICEF Online 2.0 - Connect. Manage. Enrol.

For a special EL Gazette reader offer email “EL offer” to info@icefonline.com

A four channel communications and information management system – connecting students, educators, agents and service providers

Launching November 02, 2008 at the ICEF Berlin Workshop!

Page 23November 2009