Presentation – What, How and Why: a manual of better English

I am giving a presentation of “What, How and Why – a manual of better English” on Tuesday, March 24th at 8.0.pm in Mersea Island’s MICA centre 10 miles south of Colchester in Essex – CO5 8QA

Last November, in The Times, Tim Oates, Group Director of Cambridge Assessment condemned many school textbooks as “sloppy” and criticised much teaching that was directed at examinations rather than at effective learning. He has since read the draft of What, How and Why and responded as follows:

“I am very interested in both the development of your IGCSE textbook and the English textbook. Textbooks which are not narrowly linked to exam specifications are few and far between but should be FAR MORE common. I have looked through the content in detail and am very interested in the thinking behind content and the sequencing of content. Can we book a time for a phone call?”  Tim Oates Group Director Cambridge Assessment

WHW is a unique text book, aimed primarily at young adults and teenagers with poor literacy skills, and at those who would like to help them, parents, employers, tutors and teachers.

The book’s purpose is two-fold: to show how disappointed or disaffected youngsters can be engaged in learning and to show something of what needs to be done.

Julia Hayden, a local teacher has tried the material in two schools and wrote:

“Did you ever think that you knew everything about the English language, but came unstuck when you tried to put it into words? Or do you lack confidence in your literacy levels? If so, then read this extremely useful manual on how the English language works. It contains very clear and relevant real-life examples that a range of readers can relate to: from secondary school pupils, to adults and tutors alike. I have not only used examples from this book successfully with KS3, GCSE and A Level English Language students, but also to refresh my own subject knowledge before teaching grammar in my classroom.
Brightly-coloured text boxes highlight key information and asterisks draw attention to main points that you need to remember. The activities and tests enable readers to consolidate their learning, recognise their progress and identify any aspects that they need to look over again. The ‘essentials’ sections provide quick and easy glossaries of technical terms, again with clear examples. There are lots of other useful tips for retaining learning and making helpful revision notes, with a good mixture of reading and writing tasks throughout. The author has also offered direct links to his website, in order to provide further assistance. His classroom experiences provide not only humour, but also reassurance that these approaches are successful. A super book!”

Remember the presentation – on Tuesday, March 24th at 8.0.pm in Mersea Island’s MICA centre 10 miles south of Colchester in Essex – CO5 8QA