SLWIS Newsletter - March 2014 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
Leadership Updates
•  LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
•  NOTE FROM THE EDITORS
Articles
•  THREE WAYS METAPHOR CAN HELP YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING CLASS
•  IMPLEMENTING SELF-MONITORING IN THE EFL WRITING CLASSROOM
•  CHINESE WRITERS IN THE U.S. CLASSROOM: MARRYING CULTURES OF LEARNING
•  HOW WELL DO WE UTILIZE CAMPUS RESOURCES TO HELP L2 WRITERS?
•  EXPLORING PEDAGOGICAL TECHNIQUES IN SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING INSTRUCTION: A SELF-REFLECTION ON REFORMULATION
•  DISTANCE TUTORING: ONLINE WRITING CENTER FOR L2 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
•  DIALOGUE ACROSS THE LINES: CROSS-TRAINING THE WRITING CENTER
Brief Reports
•  REVIEW OF PLACEMENT PRACTICES FOR SECOND LANGUAGE WRITERS IN COLLEGE COMPOSITION
•  DIFFERENT VOICES WERE HEARD: THE 2013 SYMPOSIUM ON SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING
Book Reviews
•  REVIEW OF NEXT GENERATION GRAMMAR
•  REVIEW OF HEADWAY ACADEMIC SKILLS: READING, WRITING, AND STUDY SKILLS - INTRODUCTORY LEVEL
•  REVIEW OF L2 WRITING DEVELOPMENT: MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES
TESOL 2014 PREVIEW
•  SLWIS SPECIAL SESSIONS AT TESOL 2014
ABOUT THIS MEMBER COMMUNITY
•  SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING IS CONTACT INFORMATION
•  SLW NEWS: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

REVIEW OF HEADWAY ACADEMIC SKILLS: READING, WRITING, AND STUDY SKILLS - INTRODUCTORY LEVEL

John C. Zinck, Walailak University, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Thailand

Philpot, S., & Curnick, L. (2013). Headway academic skills: Reading, writing, and study skills—Introductory level. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Headway Academic Skills: Reading, Writing, and Study Skills—Introductory Level is part of a four-level series that aims to bridge the gap between general and academic English. There is also a companion series, Listening, Speaking, and Study Skills, which instructs students on effective techniques for taking lecture notes, making oral presentations, and asserting their opinions in class. The publisher notes that the series can be used either as a companion to their New Headway series or independently. This review is of the writing activities in the Introductory Level textbook, which was released in 2013 and falls between A1 and A2 on the Common European Framework scale.

The teacher’s guide includes a CD-ROM (suitable for Apple’s OSX, Windows, and Linux) and mid-course and end-of-course writing exams. The exam items are a mix of multiple choice, sentence construction, and paragraph writing and are based on the topics covered in the units. Also included on the CD-ROM is a detailed rubric for scoring learners’ written paragraphs. The materials were developed for postsecondary learners, and the topics covered are designed for both EFL and ESL classrooms. The recommended steps for the instructor to follow while imparting the lesson are laid out under the “Procedure” heading in the teacher’s guide. In addition to the step-by-step instruction, there are also suggestions for class management. Each writing skills section includes an extension activity, which is designed either to build on what students have already learned or to offer students a chance to write a reflection on what they have learned. It should be noted that some of the extension activities in the writing section are occasionally dependent on the students having completed the other skills activities (e.g., reading, research) in the unit. One additional writing activity is available at the back of the teacher’s guide.

As with all of the levels in the Headway Academic Skills series, the Introductory Level consists of 10 units on a diverse array of topics. As one might expect, the topics in the Introductory Level (e.g., Meeting People, Signs and Instructions) are not as complex as those found in the more advanced levels (e.g., Urban Planning, Free Trade) and are similar to what one would find in any number of general English course books. Authentic materials would have been beneficial for learners using this textbook even if they had to be slightly adjusted for level. The content also consists of extremely basic material for those students above the beginner level (e.g., Alphabetical Order, Telling Time).

Additionally, the aims of each writing section are clearly defined in the teacher’s guide, but they are noticeably absent from the student’s book. In my view, this is unfortunate because clearly defined objectives inform students of what they can expect and what is expected of them. However, this omission can be easily rectified by the instructor copying this information on the board at the beginning of the lesson.

The warmer activities (referred to as “Lead In Activities”) are satisfactory, but they are not overly creative (e.g., “Ask your classmates who have been abroad recently, and then find out where they went”). Another concern is that more often than not, the Lead In for the writing section is a speaking activity. Perhaps this choice made by the authors, along with my previously stated concern about creativity, is due to this being a textbook targeted for beginning-level students. That being said, as students are about to engage in writing activities, asking them to put words on paper is the optimal choice even if it is only a 5-minute stream-of-consciousness task or the creation of a list of topic-related vocabulary.

For instructors using this textbook solely for writing materials, the extension activity could prove to be quite useful. A significant feature is that the “Aims,” “Procedures,” and answer key are included for these activities, which can be photocopied. The Procedure section of the teacher’s guide is particularly well written in clear and concise language, and there is a small icon which alerts the instructor to the appropriate answer key for the exercises. This is something that is often overlooked by authors and publishers with additional activities outside of the standard unit materials.

There are multiple academic skills textbooks available in the marketplace, and Oxford can count its Headway series as a valuable contribution. In the introduction to the teacher’s guide, the authors state that the aim of the writing section for each unit is to help learners “become more efficient and effective in their studies by developing strategies to produce more coherent writing, and make clear, appropriate and relevant notes from academic texts” (p. 4). Generally speaking, the authors and publisher have met their goals with Headway Academic Skills: Reading, Writing and Study Skills—Introductory Level. This textbook is most certainly a useful resource for writing instructors; however, for those who teach a writing-specific course for beginners, the materials should be considered only supplementary.