Review of methodology handbook

 

J. Harmer "The practice of English Language Teaching" (5th edition)

    When we got an assignment to read a methodology book, I was choosing between J.Scrivener’s “Learning
Teaching” and J.Harmer’s “The practice of English Language Teaching”. I made my choice in favor of the
second one. I started by comparing the tables of content and chapter 4 “Popular Methodology” in Harmer’s
book has caught my eye.
    Usually, it is demanding to read professional literature. Especially when one sees there are 447 pages, it may
look scary. What helped me is, firstly, our time was limited by the duration of the Developing Teaching Skills
course, but it was long enough - 4 months, and, secondly, the language of the book is comprehensible. The book
clearly and in simple words presents how to teach English. I value how the author provides a solid theoretical
background at the beginning of every section. I cannot say that I was reading the book consistently in a strict order.
My way of reading this book was rather chaotic, but, surprisingly, it made the journey easier. I tried to cover a
chapter prior to every class and the topic was established by the Developing Teaching Skills syllabus, so it was not
in order of contents. Sometimes I would read more, for example, when we were studying methods or learner
differences and motivation in Second Language Acquisition class, I would read corresponding chapters as additional
material.
    Among 22 chapters devoted to being learners, being teachers, feedback, classroom management, teaching
vocabulary, pronunciation and language skills I definitely learnt some new concepts. For instance, I found the
chapter on feedback extremely helpful. When I teach Mathematics, I give the feedback a little bit differently (due
to the nature of the subject). From Harmer’s book I learnt when, how and what to correct when teaching English,
not to mention the description of the correction symbols, it was fascinating and new to me!
If I were to mention a disadvantage of the book it would be the feeling of reading some general truth and common
sense that I experienced going through some chapters. Sometimes I felt the topic would be too descriptive.
However, I am not sure if I can blame the author for that, it may be just my perception.
Every once in a while I would still open Scrivener’s book to obtain some practical tips (for instance, for teaching
speaking). However, I consider Harmer’s book being theoretical as an advantage, it depends on the audience’s
background whether they’ll like it or not. I would recommend this book to the new English teachers. Being a classic
methodology book, it is worth reading.