A Straightforward Assessment

I have recently used "Straightforward" Intermediate published by Macmillan with my class at the Lake School of English and I would like to outline my thoughts regarding what the book is like.

I have enjoyed using one of the units (Unit 5 "Hard Sell") because the material was challenging and suitable for the level of my class. The Teachers' Book was thorough, the resource activities were engaging and the topic matter was relevant to the needs of the students. Please see below a pasted version from the Macmillan website regarding some of the many features available with the series of course books.

The Teacher's Book

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 Builders' 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

The e-bag

What's in your e-bag this month?

In this section you will find all the great Straightforward resources that are available for
you to download.

Each month we will be updating the Straightforward worksheets, giving you new teaching tips to use in class, and more ideas to get your classes talking.

Teaching Tip

Worksheets

Yahroo!
by Jim Scrivener
This month, Jim shares a great game to get your class thinking. Yahroo! can be used at any language level.

WORKSHEETS
from Lindsay Clandfield, Ceri Jones & Philip Kerr.
Download new extra activities to supplement your students' Straightforward course or give them extra practice. Click here to find out more.

Dictations

Quotations

MED Dictations by Philip Kerr
Straightfoward author Philip Kerr has written some fantastic dictation activities to accompany the new edition of the Macmillan English Dictionary. Ideal for use with Upper Intermediate and Advanced students, they lessons tackle common learner problems.

ROLEPLAY
This month, we have 5 quick and easy ways for you to use quotes into your lessons from author Lindsay Clandfield.


Student Feedback

My class consisted of a multi-lingual group of students from Korea, China, Japan, Germany, Italy, Romania, Nicaragua and Angola. As a group, they were communicative, lively, outgoing and a lot of fun, exactly what I needed to help me get by! Some of their comments regarding opinion of the materials used are as follows: "challenging", "very nice", "role play is very interesting", "it's good for my level", "I can remember lots of phrases", "it is very useful".
On the whole, the students enjoyed using the materials.

Modern English Teacher Magazine
Please click the link given for a full review of the Straightforward series in Modern English Teacher Volume 18 Number 1 January 2009.