I have been a teacher of English as a foreign language at Chernihiv English Magnet School No.1 since 1997. The school supports the concept that a foreign language is the means of the world exploration, continuous improvement and enhanced opportunities for students’ success in further life. It is common knowledge that a craftsman without tools cannot properly work. Thus, a course book a teacher uses while teaching a foreign language is a key element in students’ mastering the English language. ”New Headway” series has always been a powerful tool employed to help our students toward the goal.
My name is Maryna Basanko and I graduated Chernihiv English Magnet School No.1 in 2000. I was at Yuliya Gryshko’s class in 1997-1999 when we switched to “New Headway” series.
How did it influence the way I studied? Honestly, I was afraid that it would be hard for me to read authentic texts and do the tasks. However, the book improved my English and broadened my horizons. ”Headway” encouraged me to think critically, work creatively, improved my grammar skills and enriched my word stock. Finally, I found out that I could speak English fluently.
Can you guess what happened next? I became an English teacher myself. I’ve been teaching English for 10 year at Chernihiv English Magnet School No.1 And I often use “Headway” in my classroom
My first encounter with New Headway Intermediate back in 1998 actually determined my teaching style and formed my teaching philosophy : the primary goal of teaching is to foster learning by showing your passion about the material you present.
New Headway series books caused a transformation in methods I used in the classroom: •Grammar: From “ drill and kill ” to discovery based learning; • Lexis: from “memorizing long lists of words and choking with new lexis” to “developing vocabulary”; • Pronunciation: from “articulatory phonetics” to on-going general phonetic practice • Reading: using authentic materials and approaches; • Listening: “Headway” rises to challenge of teaching listening skills; • Speaking: from automaticity to fluency; • Writing: a tool for thinking
Jigsaw reading interactive reading activity that helped my students to develop speaking skills and ability to summarize the information. Effective reading well structured tasks encourage students to focus attention on the text before reading (use prior knowledge to think about the topic or make predictions) comprehension check while reading through questioning and reflection on the ideas from the text after reading reflection, extension of the understanding and ideas Additional training skimming and scanning skills