Straightforward Course Brochure

Macmillan’s new general English course

Teaching made simple

Straightforward

Meet the Straightforward author team:

Philip Kerr is the main series author for Straightforward. He is a well-established Macmillan author, having written for the Inside Out and Rising Star series of books. He was Director of Studies at International House in London for a number of years, before moving to Brussels, where he currently lives and writes.

Lindsay Clandfield has taught English in Mexico and Spain, and currently lives near Alicante. He was a teacher trainer at Oxford TEFL Barcelona, and started his writing career with onestopenglish.com, where he is a regular contributor. Since then he has written components for Skyline and American Inside out. He wrote the Beginner and Elementary Straightforward Student’s Books.

Jim Scrivener is a well-know teacher trainer and author of our bestselling methodology book Learning Teaching. He has taught in Russia, Hungary and the UK, and is currently Head of Teacher Training for Bell Schools in the UK. Jim has written the outstanding Teacher’s Books for Straightforward.

Ceri Jones currently works as the Director of Studies at International House in Madrid. She has also taught in the UK, Italy and Hungary. Ceri has co-written a number of books for Macmillan, including Inside Out and American Inside Out. She worked on the Intermediate and Upper Intermediate Student’s Books for Straightforward.

Roy Norris started teaching modern languages in the UK, before moving to Spain and a career in ELT. He has been a Director of Studies and Cambridge Examinations Co-ordinator for International House. He has written Ready for FCE and Ready for CAE, and is the author of the Advanced level Student’s Book for Straightforward.

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Dear Colleague

It goes without saying that teaching material needs to motivate and stimulate our students. It also goes without saying that our students need a variety of engaging tasks that will drive forward their knowledge of language. In over twenty years of teaching, I have come across plenty of excellent books that achieve these aims, but I have yet to find one that achieves these aims and at the same time makes my working life easier.

I wanted a book that I could pick up and use with little, if any, preparation beforehand, but that I could adapt when I had the time. I wanted something that was Straightforward.

When I was writing Straightforward, I did not want to be limited to what might be considered ‘fashionable’. Over the years, many classroom approaches and techniques have come and gone. In Straightforward I have taken an eclectic approach, drawing on both the past and the present, in order to help you and your students get results.

All the best,

Philip Kerr

Straightforward is a 6 level general English course for adult and young adult learners. It has a clear structure and is designed to be easy for both the teacher and student to use.

Each level of Straightforward consists of:

• The Student’s Book (available with or without the student’s CD-ROM)

• The Workbook (available with or without answer key)

• The combined Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack

• The class audio CD• The student’s CEF Portfolio

‘A clearly presented coursebook, stacked with classy ideas.’

English Teaching Matters magazine

Straightforward – Teaching made simple

Straightforward

Philip Kerr & Ceri Jones

Intermediate Student’s Book

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Straightforward

Lindsay Clandfield

Elementary Student’s Book

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Straightforward

Philip Kerr

Pre-intermediate Student’s Book

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Teaching made simple

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The Student’s Book has been designed to provide motivating content in a format that is easy for both teachers and students to use. All lessons include a balance of language and skills work, and the different sections on the page are clearly labelled so that students know exactly what they are focusing on at each moment.

Covering twelve broad topics per level, the units in the Student’s Book contain skills work, contextualised grammar activities, vocabulary development exercises and functional language lessons. At the end of each unit there is a language reference which contains grammar notes and a word list which shows word frequency.

The Student’s Books also now come with the new multimedia CD-ROM included.(with and without CD-ROM versions available at all levels)

Each Student’s Book contains approximately 90 hours of teaching material.

Student’s BookStraightforward

Philip Kerr


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The ELT Journal published a review of 8 current adult general English courses*. Thereview took in titles by eight publishers, and we’re thrilled to say that Straightforward came out at number one. In their summary comments the reviewers stated that they “liked many aspects of the course but, above all, we rated highly how it seemed to respect the intelligence of the learners and teachers”. They also went on to praise the “variety of authentic/semi-authentic texts”, “useful language and cultural notes”, “useful advice in the Teacher’s Book” and “possibilities for localization by teachers and students”.

* ELT Journal 62/3, pp. 294-312

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www.macmillanenglish.com/straightforward

Vocabulary words are presented and practised in context

A wide variety of speaking tasks help ensure students stay engaged with the content

Topics are selected to appeal to students and cover a wide range of subjects

Clear section headings ensure both students and teachers can follow the lesson easily

Language boxes provide easy reference to useful language and vocabulary

Advanced Student’s Book

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This is a true Advanced level Student’s Book and contains a wide variety of content that is suitable for students studying at this level. As would be expected there are more challenging reading texts, as well as extended writing sections to practise the skills students will need to develop, either for exams or the world of work.

The topics in the Student’s Book have been chosen to appeal to mature adult learners, and range from the more serious (sexual discrimination, international adoption) to those of a lighter nature (technology in sport, babysitting). In addition to a wide variety of language practice tasks, the contents include:

• 24 original reading texts, including an extract from a Clare Francis novel, extracts from blogs, newspaper articles, and so on.

• 6 writing lessons which cover tasks such as writing work emails, an essay, an article for a website, etc. There are further writing tasks in the Workbook.

• 6 ‘Speech feature’ sections which look at grammatical and phonological aspects of native speaker speech, from fronting (“huge it was”) to ellipsis in conversation ([Does]“Anybody want another piece of cake?”).

New LevelAdvanced

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Language focus sections examine the language used in high-level writing

These are extended writing lessons in the advanced level focusing on a range of different types of text

Writing units are planned as complete lessons, with speaking and language practice included

Students are provided with comprehensive guidance on how to approach the writing tasks

Advanced Student’s Book

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The Student’s Books now come with a new multimedia CD-ROM. The interactive activities practise vocabulary, grammar, functional language, reading and listening. Activity types include gap fills, multiple choice and games. Designed for self-study, the CD-ROM features extra practice based on the material and topics covered in the student’s book, as well as a grammar reference and tests for each unit. Each Straightforward CD-ROM is fully linked to the Student’s Book units. The CD-ROMs also contain the complete wordlist and definitions for each word, taken from the Macmillan Essential Dictionary.

NEW CD-ROM

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Elementary CD-ROM screenshots

Every screen contains the ‘notes’ icon which allows access to the notes feature - users can write, edit and save their own notes for each page.

Clear navigation features allow students to move through the CD-ROM easily.

Illustrated vocabulary tasks engage students and recycle the language from the Student’s Book units.


Varied task types allow students to practise a full range of language skills.

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The Straightforward website is a fantastic resource for teachers using the course. Presented in an attractive, easy-to-read style, the site contains a great deal of extra resources and material to make teachers’ lives easier.

The e-bag is the place to download extra material for use in class. Updated each month, it contains photocopiable worksheets from the course authors, a Teaching Tip from Jim Scrivener, ideas for using realia in class, and a monthly caption contest where the winning entry will receive one of our methodology titles.

There are also a large number of resources available to download as free PDFs including CEF Checklists, Placement tests, Language companions and the Straightforward Guides.

New Website

Straightforward Practice Online

Straightforward Practice Online is a new online practice environment for students. Accessible anywhere with an internet connection, supplementary online practice has never been easier, more flexible or more affordable.

To learn more, visit the Macmillan Practice Online website: www.macmillanpracticeonline.com.


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Written for new and experienced teachers alike, the Straightforward Teacher’s Books are a comprehensive teaching resource. Written by Jim Scrivener, they provide:

• Easy-to-follow lesson plans guiding teachers through each unit.

• Ideas for supplementary and extension activities. • Answer keys and tapescripts for all units. • Detailed notes on the language and cultural content of the Student’s Book lessons. • Regular ‘Methodology sections’ for the teacher which provide inspiring and practical advice. • Photocopiable resource materials for every Student’s Book lesson, including songs. • An accompanying CD which includes editable tests and other resource material.

• A second CD which contains the Teacher’s Audio materials, with extra listening tasks.

Teacher’s BookBy Jim Scrivener

Includes Resource CDs

‘We have started using Straightforward in our language school and are finding it excellent, especially the Teacher’s Book, which must be the best in the world.’

Graham Seed, Bosnia & Herzegovina

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The Workbooks contain practice material for each lesson in the Student’s Book, offering thorough consolidation of the language input. For further skills practice there are extra reading texts included for each unit. There is also a self-contained writing course of twelve two-page lessons for classroom or self-study use. These pages form a comprehensive resource for students to practise writing skills. They include useful language and models of various kinds of written texts.

The accompanying audio CD includes dictation exercises and oral versions of most Student’s Book reading texts.

Workbook with Audio CD


12 Straightforward and the Common European Framework (CEF)

Straightforward reflects the detail and the philosophy of the CEF in many ways.

• The functional language lessons directly reflect the communicative needs outlined in the CEF.

• Self-assessment checklists encourage students to reflect on their language learning and language needs. • Straightforward promotes learner independence, encourages students to work cooperatively through a wide variety of activities, and uses topics, texts and tasks which develop student’s knowledge of, and respect for other cultures.

Language Companions

On the Straightforward website you can download the free language Companions in French, German, Italian and Dutch. Available for all levels except Advanced, they contain the key vocabulary for each lesson, plus translations and sample sentences.

‘... a book full of highly workable and stimulating activities, covering a huge variety of topics.’

EL Gazette, December 2007. Book of the month (Upper Intermediate)

13Straightforward Portfolios

Available for all levels of Straightforward, the Portfolios are A5 learners’ diaries that contain exercises that follow the Student’s Book topics and help students build the right vocabulary and language functions needed for the CEF learning aims. They also include self-assessment material and a checklist section where students can mark off language areas they are competent in.


‘I really like the Straightforward series. It’s ideal for new teachers with plenty of good extra ideas and guidance in the Teacher’s Book.’

Marjorie Nino, Guildford College

Beginner978 0 230 02076 4 Student’s Book with CD-ROM 978 1 405 01049 8 Student’s Book without CD-ROM978 1 405 07516 9 Workbook (With Key) Pack978 1 405 07517 6 Workbook (Without Key) Pack978 1 405 07542 8 Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack978 1 405 01056 6 Class Audio CD978 1 405 09582 2 CEF Portfolio

Elementary978 0 230 02077 1 Student’s Book with CD-ROM 978 1 405 01073 3 Student’s Book without CD-ROM978 1 405 07519 0 Workbook (With Key) Pack978 1 405 07520 6 Workbook (Without Key) Pack978 1 405 07545 9 Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack978 1 405 01078 8 Class Audio CD978 1 405 09580 8 CEF Portfolio

Pre-intermediate978 0 230 02079 5 Student’s Book with CD-ROM 978 1 405 01057 3 Student’s Book without CD-ROM978 1 405 07525 1 Workbook (With Key) Pack978 1 405 07526 8 Workbook (Without Key) Pack978 1 405 07548 0 Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack978 1 405 01062 7 Class Audio CD978 1 405 09581 5 CEF Portfolio

Intermediate978 0 230 02078 8 Student’s Book with CD-ROM 978 1 405 01065 8 Student’s Book without CD-ROM978 1 405 07522 0 Workbook (With Key) Pack978 1 405 07523 7 Workbook (Without Key) Pack978 1 405 07551 0 Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack978 1 405 01070 2 Class Audio CD978 1 405 09583 9 CEF Portfolio

Upper Intermediate978 0 230 02080 1 Student’s Book with CD-ROM 978 1 405 01089 4 Student’s Book without CD-ROM978 1 405 07528 2 Workbook (With Key) Pack978 1 405 07529 9 Workbook (Without Key) Pack978 1 405 07554 1 Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack978 1 405 01093 1 Class Audio CD978 1 405 09584 6 CEF Portfolio

Advanced978 0 230 02147 1 Student’s Book with CD-ROM978 1 405 01081 8 Student’s Book without CD-ROM978 1 405 07531 2 Workbook (With Key) Pack978 1 405 07532 9 Workbook (Without Key) Pack978 1 405 07557 2 Teacher’s Book and Resource Pack978 1 405 01086 3 Class Audio CD978 1 405 09585 3 CEF Portfolio

Straightforward

Philip Kerr & Ceri Jones

Intermediate Student’s Book

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Straightforward

Lindsay Clandfield

Elementary Student’s Book

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Straightforward

Philip Kerr


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Brochure ISBN: 9780230039728

Documents

Straightforward Course Brochure