Book Review: Primary English: Teaching Theory and Practice (6th ed.)

Abstract

This book contains 14 chapters covering language learning, ranging from general theory to practice that occur organically in children’s language development, and the extent of teaching specific skills, features of classroom settings, and language assessment. The book aims to identify essential elements in teaching primary English in relation to the teachers’ standards based on the primary National Curriculum of England and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Key Stages 1 and 2 are used to classify students of grades 1-2 and 3-6, respectively. Trainee teachers as well as Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) working in primary levels are the target readers of the book. At the end, they should have clear understanding of the knowledge, skills and attributes of this teaching profession to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In each chapter, teachers’ standards are presented at the beginning to provide a clear relationship with further content consisting of subject knowledge and skills for primary English, examples of classroom practices, and research studies related to the topics covered. The authors make the book remarkably comprehensive with such expansion features as Reflective Task, Research Summary, Embedding ICT, and the Bigger Picture. At the end of each chapter, there are three features including a summary of key points listing the core ideas, an “M-level” extension for those at the Master’s degree level, and suggested references for further reading.