About Language: Tasks for Teachers of English

Cambridge Teacher Training and Development

by Scott Thornbury

Teachers of English need not only to have a good productive command of the language; they also need to know a good deal about the way the language works. This book asks: 'What is it that a teacher needs to know about English in order to teach it effectively?' It leads teachers to awareness of the language through a wide range of tasks which involve them in analysing English to discover its underlying system. The book consists of 28 units, each containing around ten tasks, plus a diagnostic introductory unit. Units start at phoneme level and progress through words, phrases and sentences on to complete texts. Task-types include recognition, categorisation, matching, explanation, and application tasks. Throughout the book, the language is illustrated wherever possible from authentic sources, so that the teacher can be sure that the English being studied represents current usage.

Genres: Teaching, Nonfiction, Education, Linguistics, Language

290 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 1997

About the author

My name is Scott Thornbury. I'm a teacher and teacher educator, with over 30 years' experience in English language teaching, and an MA from the University of Reading. I am currently Associate Professor of English Language Studies at the New School in New York, where I teach on an on-line MA TESOL program. My previous experience includes teaching and teacher training in Egypt, UK, Spain (where I live), and in my native New Zealand. My writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology. I am series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Teachers (CUP). I was also the co-founder of the dogme ELT group.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great textbook, useful for all language teachers. My only gripe was the explanatory notes for each chapter were at the back for the book, so there was lots of flipping back and forth - could have been better laid-out.

[Olga Ustimenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the book, and there are two thing I wish I'd known before I set out.

First, the commentaries tend to be on the brief side. The corresponding entries in "An A-Z of ELT" by the same author, on the other hand, are just right: they go into enough detail without being overly long and provide clarifying examples that really aid understanding. In short, if you are a "zero uncertainty" fan like me, I highly recommend supplementing "About Language" with "An A-Z of ELT".

Secondly, working through "About language" is more time-consuming and tiring than you'd expect. A chapter took me between 90 and 120 minutes. That includes doing the tasks, looking up relevant entries in "An A-Z of ELT", reading commentaries, taking notes on the margins and writing out definitions on separate cards. I had this optimistic estimate where I was going to do 2 chapters a day and finish the book in two or three weeks. Didn't happen. A chapter a day, four chapters a week turned out to be a more realistic pace. If you are planning to work through "About language" before DELTA, take it up 2-3 months in advance. That way you can alternate it with other reading, have breaks, and still make it.

Is it worth working through? Absolutely. Makes you feel real smart (also, prepares you for DELTA M1 Paper 1 Part 4).

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for teachers but agree with others: explanatory notes should be interwoven with the exercises

[Dominic Neesam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished working through this book as an "almost" final prep for my DELTA Module 1 exam. Thornbury tells it like it is, I've been a fan of his since discovering his "unplugged" approach and elements of his beliefs regarding teaching methodology shine through in his books. I confer with other readers here re the impracticality of having to leaf backwards and forwards from each exercise of each unit to its corresponding key in the back of the book so I employed 2 bookmarks - which was a first!
That little bugbear aside, however, the tasks serve to educate through a variety of texts, or, as the case may be, to revise previously seen material (if you've been following a course as I have). There have been subsequent editions since this one, I don't know how these have been updated but suffice to say, I doubt the English language has evolved so much in 20 years that this first edition has become out of date! Highly recommended.

[Maha Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for ESL teachers and highly recommended for people pursuing DELTA course

[Akbota Baisheke]

usefull tool

[Amber + Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I popcorn read through this textbook. It is a little difficult and definitely geared for teachers or anyone who is going to teach English. I learned a lot though. I also have no doubt I'll probably end up going through the rest of the chapters at a later time.

[Aliah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful book for EFL teachers. It includes tasks which cover various aspects: phonology, grammar and discourse analysis. After completing tasks you can check them and read commentaries. The only thing which bothers me is that the author sometimes provided little explanation to complex items.

[Criss · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most pertinent grammar books ever written. Chock full of great explanations and pertinent examples. An absolute must-read for any teacher of English, and especially for those doing their DELTA / DipTESOL.

[Rea]

Studied in 2007.
We had to purchase this book for class, but I'm not sure that we used it much at all.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful activities for teachers.