This book is a collection of strategies and tips collected through a survey of 80 practicing ESL professionals, as well as a series of conversations with the author's colleagues. The book reveals teachers' motivations for choosing certain techniques. A unique feature of the book is the thinking that underlies teachers' choices in terms of how they manage their classroom.
Voices of Experience was designed and written with teachers-in-training and seasoned professionals in mind; the book would be used differently by each.
The book has five units: The Classroom Environment, Lesson Planning, Pair and Group Work, Classroom Interactions, and Classroom Trouble Spots. Each unit has two or three chapters that discuss the survey responses and relevant quotes from participants. Each unit concludes with a Connections section that features:
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Challenging Beliefs: What Teachers Think, which presents a statement for readers to respond to and compare their responses to others who completed the survey.
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Classroom Connections: What Teachers Do, which lists reflection or discussion questions
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Strategies and Motivations: What Teachers Say, which presents more quotes from respondents, particularly those that look at what's behind teachers' choices. These too could be used for reflection or discussion.
