The Language Teacher
01 - 2001
Language Teaching and Longman Japan: Your Perfect Partners
Tom Sweeney
Longman Japan
Off the Presses offers readers a glimpse into what is happening in the world of our publishing colleagues. This month we feature an article by Tom Sweeney of Longman Japan. For further inquiries about this column, please contact <tlt_op@jalt.org>
Longman appreciates the efforts of The Language Teacher to give educational publishers an opportunity to announce new services and products to its readers. With nearly 40 years of experience providing the most comprehensive ELT service in Japan, Longman is excited about the many positive developments to increase support for educators and students throughout Japan.
The Internet is playing an increasingly important role in language teaching and learning. Longman recognizes this and places great importance on the development and expansion of online resources for both teachers and students. There are three main websites that you can use to get information on our products, download actual activities for classroom use, and discuss teaching ideas with fellow educators.
First, the Longman Website, which is dedicated to teachers and students in Japan, can be found at <www.longman-elt.com/longman_japan/>. Our online catalog easily guides you to the books you are searching for by grouping the titles by category. For those interested in having a closer look at a book, we have a convenient online sample request form that makes evaluating our materials even easier. For current Longman book users, you should look at our page of Companion Websites. Many of our titles have Companion Websites that contain additional online activities and downloadable materials for teachers and students.
If you are interested in increasing your professional development or just want to share opinions with other teachers, please take a look at the section dedicated to teachers. Teaching tips, downloadable activities and articles by experts are just a click away on our pages dedicated to teachers. The free downloadable activities will save you hours of preparation time, and the teacher discussion boards put you in contact with educators from across the country.
Teachers interested in attending national or local events should consult our event schedule for the latest information on events being held throughout Japan. We are committed to helping JALT and other teacher organizations support their members' professional growth and are always interested in working together to produce workshops and teacher training sessions.
For students, we have a section specifically designed to help language learners improve their English. They will find online activities and discussion boards that put them in contact with others students with similar interests. We have separate sections for young learners, teens, adults, business students, and students studying for exams. Longman Japan's homepage has something for everyone interested in English in Japan!
Next, our two Penguin Readers websites offer teachers and students many resources that make English learning fun! Penguinreaders.Com <www.penguinreaders.com> offers a searchable database of our extensive catalog allowing you to search for appropriate reading materials by topic, author, or title. There are also a variety of free teacher resource materials to help you make the most out of Penguin Readers. You can also get your students involved by having them write reviews of Penguin Readers with the chance of winning great prizes! Each month 10 winners are chosen, and their reviews are posted on the Penguin Readers website.
We are proud to announce the opening of our newest site dedicated to non-fiction reading, Penguindossiers.Com <www.penguinreaders.com>. For teachers interested in having students discuss current events, Penguindossiers.Com offers weekly non-fiction articles that can be printed and used in class free of charge or read online with the assistance of an interactive glossary. Each dossier is graded appropriately for language learners and focuses on a current topic like sports, film, news, or famous people, keeping students on top of the current events. Each dossier is accompanied by a downloadable "factsheet" that provides teachers with comprehension questions and activities, so you can use the article right away! If you've missed a dossier, the article and accompanying "factsheet" are archived on the site.
These are just a few of the things available on our homepages. Whether you are a teacher or student, we have a wealth of information and activities available at your fingertips. To get a better idea of the full range of free resources and downloadable materials we have to offer, we invite you to take a look. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us at <elt@pearsoned.co.jp>. Our team of ELT specialists is happy to help!
Finally, our support and service is not limited to the Internet. As a celebration of 40 years of service in Japan and the 21st anniversary of the immensely popular series Side by Side, which has entered into its 3rd edition, we are offering the student book audio program for Book 1 for half-price through June 2001! The 3rd edition has many new features including: Vocabulary Preview, How to Say It, Pronunciation, and Side by Side Gazette. For more information, please contact us or look at the Side by Side companion website.
The children's team is also proud to offer two special offers on their best selling titles. The SuperKids Level 1 value pack includes: a teacher's manual (Japanese or English), a student book, an activity book, teacher cards, and a coupon for a free CD! The Gogo Loves English value pack includes: a teacher's manual (Japanese or English), a student book, a workbook with CD, picture cards, and a coupon for a free Audio Cassette or CD! Both packs allow savings of 70%. We hope that these value packs will help schools and individual teachers begin the important job of teaching English to the next generation of Japanese leaders!
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For more information on JALT, visit the JALT National Website