analitical 4

They could perhaps be

supplemented by more of the ‘enquiry’ type,

encouraging teachers to find out, through simple

procedures like tape recording, exactly what is

going on in their classrooms, and focusing on

learner responses in their own professional

context. They are placed as end matter to the book,

404 Reviewsand I hope they are not lost there as a resource to

the reader.

In summary, whether teachers dip into this book to

follow the threads of a particular issue or topic, or

whether they read it from cover to cover, they will

find it a useful, well-resourced discussion of ELT

practice. The new edition of The Practice of English

Language Teaching not only fulfils the aims implied

in its Preface, but also fits to a large extent the

criteria for an in-service handbook one might set

externally as a teacher educator. A review usually

discusses strengths and then lists criticisms. I’m

not sure that ‘criticism’ is the appropriate word for

some of the points I’ve made. It is simply that the

book has a set of characteristics which teacher

educators will need to match appropriately to the

existing knowledge and experience of teachers, and

the reasons for their reading. Individual teachers

will browse and be self-selecting. Teacher educators

will need to be discerning in their judgement of

who the new edition is now best suited to. The

book will undoubtedly continue its strong

contribution to the ELT profession, but to di¤erent

audiences in di¤erent ways.

References

Baumann, J. 1996. ‘Conflict or compatibility in

classroom enquiry: one teacher’s struggle to

balance teaching and research’. Educational

Researcher 25/7: 29–36.

Dewey, J. 1933. How we think: A restatement of the

relation of reflective thinking to the educative process.

Boston: D. C. Heath.

Kuhn T. 1963 ‘The function of dogma in scientific

research’ in A. C. Crombie (ed.). Scientific Change.

London: Heinemann.

Ramani, E. 1987. ‘Theorizing from the classroom’.

ELT Journal 41/1: 3–11.

Widdowson, H. G. 1990. Aspects of Language

Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The reviewer

Tricia Hedge is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for

English Language Teacher Education at the

University of Warwick. She is course leader for the

Doctorate in Education, and teaches Applied

Linguistics, ELT Professional Practice, and

Educational Management on MA programmes,

and short courses for teachers. Her main interests

are in teacher education, curriculum design, and

the teaching of reading and writing. Her

publications include Using Readers in Language

Teaching (Macmillan), Writing (Oxford University

Press), Power, Pedagogy, and Practice (Oxford

University Press, co-edited with Norman Whitney),

and Teaching and Learning in the Language

Classroom (Oxford University Press).

Email: P.A.Hedge@warwick.ac.uk

Humanising Your Coursebook

M. Rinvolucri

First Person Publishing/English Teaching

Professional, DELTA Publishing 2002 96 pp., £13.25

isbn: 0 954198 60 3

When I get a new textbook I am as excited as my

students are at the beginning of every new school

year. Usually I spend part of my summer holidays

reading the new textbook, digesting the teacher’s

book, listening to the tapes, or watching videotapes

and doing exercises myself. It is so exciting! I try to

imagine how the activities will work, speculate

about whether the students will accept a particular

task or not, and about whether the materials really

take my students to where I want them to be. But

this enthusiasm of mine, and that of my students,

tends to get less and less by the end of the school

year.

Why? It’s diªcult to say. Maybe partly because a

textbook that might at first seem interesting and

intriguing eventually gets too familiar and

unexciting. For me, no matter how good a textbook

is, after I have taught it twice or three times, I

definitely start feeling more and more bored—I

know the texts by heart, I know all the answers, and

moreover, I even know the mistakes my students

will make. This is one of the issues expressed by

teachers at many teacher-training seminars: they

feel that they have squeezed the textbook dry, and it

has less and less to o¤er. Besides that, there is an

additional danger of losing contact with the

students, and just teaching the textbook.

No wonder, then, that I get through with my

textbook far ahead of the end of the year, and still

see that my students’ language skills and

knowledge are poor. All this leads me to self-doubt,

frustration, and burnout. And at this point, what I

really need is: ideas and yet more ideas that I can

use in order to get in touch with my students again,

survive, and escape the routine. Mario Rinvolucri’s

new book is one that can give you new ideas and

perspectives. An additional bonus of this book is

getting your creative juices flowing—you are

provided with an activity and variations, and all of a

sudden you see that there is much more in the

Reviews 405Punapa panjenengan luwe? Sanes luwe sacara badaniah, nanging punapa panjenengan ngraosaken luwe bab langkung ingkang wonten ing gesang panjenengan? Punapa punika bab ing salebeting manah panjenengan ingkang dereng nate damel marem? Menawi makaten, Yesus punika marginipun! Pangandikane Gusti Yesus, “Aku iki roti panguripan; sing sapa marani Aku, iku ora bakal luwe maneh, sarta sing sapa pracaya marang Aku, iku ora bakal ngelak maneh” (Yokhanan 6:35).

Panjenengan bingung? Panjenengan dereng nate manggih margi utawi tujuan salebeting gesang? Punapa katingalipun kados dene tiyang ingkang kapejahan lampu lan mboten saged manggih gantosipun? Menawi makaten, namung Yesus punika marginipun. Yesus paring dhawuh, “Aku iki pepadhanging jagad; sing sapa ngetut-buri Aku, ora bakal lumaku ana ing pepeteng, nanging bakal nduweni padhanging urip” (Yokhanan 8:12).