Longman International English Course Teacher's Book (3) Latest Edition

Author: (English) Morlinsky
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Although Longman International English Course is not a textbook suitable for absolute beginners, the required starting level is not very high. Given the current level of English teaching in primary and secondary schools in major and medium-sized cities in China, students with a foundation in English from primary to junior high school can use this textbook. Therefore, it is a widely applicable one. The layout design of this textbook is vivid and colorful, with exquisite printing. Opening a book is like opening a children's animated book, which I believe will be attractive to our primary and secondary school students and also conducive to creating a relaxed learning atmosphere.
There are two main approaches to writing textbooks for the foundational stage of English learning: one is grammar-based and the other is communicative function-based. Both approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses. Grammar-based textbooks emphasize systematic mastery of grammar systems, focusing on students' proficiency and accuracy in constructing sentences, but they often neglect the development of students' communicative skills. The extreme manifestation is knowing grammar but being poor at speaking. Communicative function-based textbooks prioritize the cultivation of students' ability to use language for communication, but they often overlook the accuracy of language (including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.), with the extreme manifestation being bold in speaking but riddled with language errors.
Communication is the fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language. Spending hours studying grammar rules but being unable to communicate with others is almost a waste of time. Conversely, grammar rules (broadly speaking, including grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation) are the foundation of language. No sentence can exist without grammar. Those who only seek immediate communication needs without a solid language foundation will eventually find themselves unable to express themselves clearly and will be ridiculed. Ideal textbooks and corresponding teaching methods should strike a reasonable balance between grammar skills and communicative skills, as well as their organic integration. In recent years, many textbooks written domestically and internationally have made efforts in this direction and achieved varying degrees of success. Longman International English Course (Side by Side), adapted and published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press after being introduced from Longman Publishing Group, is considered a relatively successful example. In the four books of this series, each lesson has a grammar focus point, along with communicative scenarios where the grammar point is frequently used, allowing students to immediately apply the grammar knowledge they learn to language communication.