TEFL/Grammar Book Recs?

Question

friends,i'll shortly be taking a TEFL course and then continuing on to work as a teacher and would like to familiarize myself with the basic rules/issues before leaving (i don't leave for months) and am soliciting recommendations for books that explicitly deal with the issues I'll be encountering (i.e. phrasal v. modal verbs, punctuation, common mistakes made by foreigners, explication of all 14 tenses {for instance, in what verb tense is used in the sentence "I'm meeting my mom later"}, etc.). if any recommendations could be sent directly to me @ (Email Removed) or (Email Removed) in addition to being posted to the respective lists that would be a huge help as i'm using google's newsreader on a 3-9 hour delay.thanks, dave

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]friends, i'll shortly be taking a TEFL course and then continuing on to work as a teacher and would like ... respective lists that would be a huge help as i'm using google's newsreader on a 3-9 hour delay. thanks, dave[/nq]
Dave

A couple of books which hopefully are available in the US:-

* Eastwood & Mackin, A Basic English Grammar OUP ISBN 0194329380 is aimed at EFL students so rather easier going than some of the grammars new teachers are expected to read;

* Discover English - Bolitho & Tomlinson Allen & Unwin ISBN 004371076X is not a grammar but a very useful starter to get pre-TEFLers thinking (but could be out of print now).
[nq:1]what verb tense is used in the sentence "I'm meeting my mom later"}, etc.)[/nq]
That's a large etc, however...

English doesn't have a declined future tense in the way some other European langauges do. (Stand back for howls of protest). Instead it has 'ways of talking about the future' based on present forms. We usually teach students four of these, so have a think about the differences:-

* 'We fly to Berlin Tuesday.' * 'I'll close the window' * 'I'm going to phone him tomorrow'. * 'I'm meeting my mom later'.

Good luck

DCC

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]i'll shortly be taking a TEFL course and then continuing ... issues I'll be encountering (i.e. phrasal v. modal verbs, punctuation,[/nq]
Practical English Usage by Swan, publ. Oxford is very good. Emphasis, however, is upon proper English, rather than the American version.

Alternatively, use the web, for example http://www.englishpage.com/index.html and http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Practical English Usage by Swan, publ. Oxford is very good. Emphasis, however, is upon proper English, rather than the American ... a foreign language -many of tehm from Asian countries where the usual variety of English being taught is Amnerican English.[/nq]
Most native speakers of English do no speak what you call "proper" English, by which you mean Standard British English - probably with Received Pronunciation. Indeed most people living in Britain don't speak Standcard British English either.

Your attitude is actually totally alien to Swan's approach - he never speaks of proper English, only memtioning that some people may disapprove of certain usages

Einde O'Callaghan
[nq:1]Alternatively, use the web, for example http://www.englishpage.com/index.html and http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm[/nq]

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]friends, i'll shortly be taking a TEFL course and then continuing on to work as a teacher and would like ... respective lists that would be a huge help as i'm using google's newsreader on a 3-9 hour delay. thanks, dave[/nq]
PS
[nq:1]phrasal v. modal verbs,[/nq]
A false dichotomy; two totally different things not an either/or.

DCC

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Practical English Usage by Swan, publ. Oxford is very good. Emphasis, however, is upon proper English, rather than the American version. Alternatively, use the web, for example http://www.englishpage.com/index.html and http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm[/nq]
Keep going with that gag long enough and I'm sure someone in the States will pick you up eventually, not to mention totally ******* off Einde. In the meantime even my 1980 copy of Swan doesn't make value comparisons between US and British English.

pip pip

Django C

Usenet · Answer

Einde, Why don't you get off your soap box? There are plenty of people who still speak standard/correct/Queen's English (take your pick) While we are all aware that there are many praxes nowadays, and that glottals have become more prevalent - particularly among the young - there is no reason why people should not speak or learn to speak the language correctly. No doubt you are quite happy for people to use 'color', 'aluminum' and 'dramatize', and to say "We was robbed" "I done it" and to have the inability to construct a sentence without the prolific use of 'like', 'you know' and 'I mean'. I do not advocate that everyone should speak in perfect English, merely that they should be aware that it exists and that they be given the chance to know what is grammatically correct. Mike
[nq:2]Practical English Usage by Swan, publ. Oxford is very good. Emphasis, however, is upon proper English, rather than the American version.[/nq]
[nq:1]This sort of language is highly provocative and has no place in this forum, which is mainly frequented by people ... approach - he never speaks of proper English, only memtioning that some people may disapprove of certain usages Einde O'Callaghan[/nq]
[nq:2]Alternatively, use the web, for example http://www.englishpage.com/index.html and http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm[/nq]

Usenet · Answer

... > friends,
[nq:1]i'll shortly be taking a TEFL course and then continuing on to work as a teacher and would like to ... to the respective lists that would be a huge help as i'm using google's newsreader on a 3-9 hour delay.[/nq]
Try http://groups.msn.com/tefl - there are a few suggestions under the Resources menu, and the list is growing. Zz

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Einde, Why don't you get off your soap box? There are plenty of people who still speak standard/correct/Queen's English (take ... among the young - there is no reason why people should not speak or learn to speak the language correctly.[/nq]
I wasn't speaking of these modern developments, but to the fact that most English speakers in Britain speak a form of English that is affected to a greater or lesser extent by dialects that have a history just as long as the privileged dialect we call Standard British English.

If pronunciation is changing it's part of the normal process of language development. We no longer speak Shakespearean English. Both grammar and pronunciation (not to speak of vocabulary) have changed dramatically since teh 16th century.

And no doubt you would cosider the pronunciation of the word "tea" as "tay" to be an uncouth regionalism. As a matter of fact it was the standard pronunciation down to the beginning of the 18th century - the Queen's English in the time of Queen Anne.
[nq:1]No doubt you are quite happy for people to use 'color', 'aluminum' and 'dramatize',[/nq]
"Dramatize" is the preferred spelling of the Oxford English Dictionary and the Times, not an Americanism. For better or worse, probably more native speakers of English learn "color", "aluminum" and "theater" in school than "colour", "aluminium" and "theatre". These aren't incorrect, they are simply standard American spelling - neither better nor worse than standard British spelling.
[nq:1]and to say "We was robbed" "I done it" and to have the inability to construct a sentence without the prolific use of 'like', 'you know' and 'I mean'.[/nq]
Actually, as an English teacher I would consider these to be non-standard. But they're also non-standard in American English, Irish English , Australian English etc.
[nq:1]I do not advocate that everyone should speak in perfect English, merely that they should be aware that it exists and that they be given the chance to know what is grammatically correct.[/nq]
My objection was to your original equation of correct English with the standard form spoken in England.

Einde O'Callaghan

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