Customer Reviews

Edutainment: How to Teach Language With Fun & Games

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Edutainment book is OK, but not what I would consider worthy of 5 stars. Although some of the ideas are helpful, over half the book is made up of one-use examples, instead of ideas. Yes, it's nice to include the song lyrics, but in their form, they can only be used in one way. And the pages and pages of crossword puzzle examples take up a lot of space that could have been used much more productively.

Overall, although there are good ideas included in this book, there really aren't enough to justify its price. Do yourself a favour: grab your Beatles CDs, get on the internet, find a Beatles lyrics site, and print them out. Then, you can blank out what ever grammar point you want - verbs, prepositions, etc. Then, go to puzzlemaker.com, where you can make any kind of crossword puzzle you want for free, AND you can make your own clues for them. Buy this book if it's on the company dime; otherwise, save your money for something that includes more versatile ideas.

Edutainment is a book developed for use primarily with junior and senior high school students in Japan. As the title suggests, it contains conversation - based games and activities aimed at educating and entertaining the learner at the same time. Edutainment contains 18 photocopiable language - based games and activities plus 17 music close activities.
The author says that the book was developed over 5 years of teaching junior high school and college students. Though it has been put together with these levels in mind, clearly many of these activities can be modified to suit other levels. All of the activities and games have straightforward instructions and are easy to set up. In addition, many of the activities can be used in conjunction with certain grammar points.

Looking at the list of games of activities in the table of contents, one may note that some of them are old favorites, while others sound only vaguely familiar. After using Edutainment with high school and junior college students, it can be said that all the activities do work very well. Used as a resource, Edutainment provides ready-made fun activities which are sure to spice up any lesson.
Since using this book I am much more popular with my students.


Reviewed by Ron Hearne

Komae High School

I was sorely disappointed by this book. It's an *overpriced* compilation of common games and activities well known those who have a couple of years of teaching experience. If you're new to the teaching field, it could be helpful. If you've been in the classroom for a while, don't waste your money.

I arrived in Hong Kong ten months ago to teach ESL and found the text EXTREMLY helpful. Actually, I used the text last year while I was finishing up my MA in TESOL back in the United States. One of my professors recommended we use the text in our demo classes with students studying ESL.

The reason for the popularity of the text is one often never knows the actual level of the students. The games/listening exercises are easily adaptable to all levels and for this reason I can understand the popularity behind this book.

I highly recommend it for anyone who is contemplating teaching ESL abroad.

I arrived in Hong Kong ten months ago to teach ESL and found the text EXTREMLY helpful. Actually, I used the text last year while I was finishing up my MA in TESOL back in the United States. One of my professors recommended we use the text in our demo classes with students who were studying ESL. The reason for the popularity of the text is one often never knows the actual level of the students. The games/listening exercises are easily adaptable to all levels and for this reason I can understand the popularity behind this book.

I highly recommend it for anyone who is contemplating teaching ESL abroad.

I did not find anything special or new in this book. Most of the lesson ideas have been around for a long time. The songs are okay, but most students will prefer somthing more up to date. This book is okay for a teacher who is just starting out and has no materials but will be a waste of time for anyone with some experience or common sense.

Edutainment is a 92 page book with accompanying cassette or CD of games and well-known songs for use in the EFL classroom. It is essentially one teacher's stock of well-tried material during his teaching in junior high schools, colleges and companies over a period of five years. As such, one might be forgiven for an initial reaction of "Well this is already in almost every teacher's repertoire!" Not so:
Not everyone has had the time, opportunity or indeed inclination to collect a ready-to-use stock of games and songs and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of busy TEFLERS who are not blessed with well-stocked resource centres with this sort of material, in their place of work.
It would also be an insult to the author to dismiss this publication as mere replication. There are the old favourites such as Snap, Hangman, Chinese Whispers, Bingo and Scrabble but the author gives step by step instructions for the novice teacher and sensibly permits photocopying of exercises and songs for classroom use. I was impressed by some of the crosswords, particularly the "Jigsawed" versions. Again, not new in concept for promoting communication in the classroom plus....., but very time-comsuming to prepare well and so a very useful ready-to-use aid.
All the games, if not completely applicable to one's immediate teaching situation, provide a basis for other ideas and/or adaptation. Likewise the songs, which are essentially cloze (vocabulary) exercises, could be adapted to a variety of levels/degree of difficulty, depending on the situation. They are all well-known and "middle of the road" enough to suit all age groups and nearly all nationalities (there may be some cultural content one might wish to avoid in some situations).
In short, Edutainment would be a handy additional resource in any TEFL situation and highly recommended.

Review by TEFL Professional Network

Review from JALT, The Language Teacher. Edutainment: How to Teach Language With Fun and Games. I.E.Hewitt. Language Direct, 1996, Pp.96. 3,400 yen (tape incl,). ISBN 0-9586492-00 Edutainment is a book developed for use primarily with junior and senior high school students in Japan. As the title suggests, it contains conversation - based games and activities aimed at educating and entertaining the learner at the same time. Edutainment contains 18 photocopiable language - based games and activities plus 17 music close activities. The author says that the book was developed over 5 years of teaching junior high school and college students. Though it has been put together with these levels in mind, clearly many of these activities can be modified to suit other levels. All of the activities and games have straightforward instructions and are easy to set up. Some are adapted from Japanese popular culture (i.e. Magical Zuno Power and Sazae-san from T.V.), and their familiarity seems to validate the tasks. In addition, many of the activities can be used in conjunction with certain grammar points. Looking at the list of games of activities in the table of contents, one may note that some of them are old favorites, while others sound only vaguely familiar. After using Edutainment for 4 months with high school and junior college students, it can be said that all the activities do work. Used as a supplementary resource, Edutainment provides ready-made activities which are sure to spice up any lesson. Reviewed by Ron Hearne Komae High School

I can't believe I just spent [money] on this extremely overrated book! Let me sum up this book for you: BINGO, crossword puzzles and Hangman! Oh yeah! And an audiotape of questionable durability... Save your cash and look up ideas (for ESL games) on the internet instead.

Thanks alot. Love the book. I've actually bought it on two different occasions and over the years people seem to run off with it. They must like it too. Great job.
--Clark Richardson