ESL Teacher Textbook Review - The Oxford Picture Dictionary

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If you are an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher looking for the ultimate textbook to teach your students vocabulary, then you are going to love the Oxford Picture Dictionary (Monolingual English). This textbook is perfect for any ESL student and any ESL teacher. It can be used by students of all levels, and contains important English words or vocabulary. We use this book at our ESL school, Hawaii Literacy's Drop In Center, because it can be used with any level of student. As long as the student has learned their basic ABCs and basics of English reading, they can learn from it effectively.

To understand the amazing adaptability of this ESL textbook, I will discuss a little more about how it is used in our school. The Drop-In Center is a free ESL school for the local immigrant community of Hawaii, hence student attendance is not consistent. Students are free to come and go and thus it is difficult to have a traditional lesson plan structure. In addition, since the school is mostly run by volunteers, there are often not enough ESL teachers to divide students into different levels.

The Oxford Picture Dictionary offers many advantages for us:

1) It has relevant vocabulary for all levels of students (you can check out the table of contents on Amazon.com).
2) Students and ESL teachers can begin on any page at any time (so new students will not feel like they are behind the class).
3) Pictures can be understood even if the student has a very minimal level of English.
4) All levels of students find the book useful and engaging.
5) The teacher's manual and workbooks are excellent and make teaching and learning much easier.
6) It is inexpensive for most students (about $17)

Of course, even with these many advantages, the book is a reference book...a picture dictionary. Therefore, in order to make it interesting to students, the ESL teacher will need to integrate it into an effective classroom experience.

For my class, I usually use the Teacher's Manual, which already has ready made sample dialogues, lists of sentences for dictation, discussion questions, related vocabulary and other suggested activities. I might throw in a quiz or two to help the students check their comprehension.

Then I have them go home and review the vocabulary on their own at ESL teacher http://www.eslteacherguide.blogspot.com/, a blog I created with the corresponding video lessons. We have the students work on only one page of the book a week, so that they have the opportunity to go home and absorb the words effectively. Some of the other ESL teachers at our school integrate the vocabulary into their grammar practices, or into their own self-created activities. Whatever your classroom focus is or what methods you use, the Oxford Picture Dictionary is by far the best textbook for American English vocabulary building.

Meylysa Tseng,
ESL Teacher (Resources for Students Learning English, Resources for the ESL Teacher), http://www.eslteacherguide.blogspot.com/

Online Oxford English Dictionary

The most popular and widely accepted dictionary all over the word is Oxford English dictionary. There were two editions of this earlier and the third one is about to launch. The head of the Oxford university press, Mr Nigel Portwood said that the third edition of the dictionary will only be in electronic form. The online version of the Oxford English Dictionary was a great success and this was the inspiration for them to publish the third edition electronically. The first edition of Oxford English Dictionary was printed in 1928 and in the year 1989 the second edition was printed.

There are many benefits for the online version. The online version is more economic. Usually the printed edition was sold for about nine hundred and ninety-five dollars and the online version is available for two hundred and ninety-five dollars. It is always easy to use your desktop or lap to check the word meaning rather than checking the big book with your hands. The space for keeping the book in your shelf can also be saved if you are subscribing the online version.

There are frequent updates provided to the online version which will not be available in the printed version. The printed version contains the meaning of the word, its usage in the history, the proper pronunciation and the etymology. About eighty lexicographers are working for the third edition of Oxford English dictionary. The revised entries will be updated to the online edition every three months. The Amazon has reported a great hike in the sales on online books. Therefore it is sure that the online dictionary will be accepted wholeheartedly by the language lovers. But still then there are many people who prefer to buy the printed version still sticking to the traditional way of reading. But during the time of power loss everyone will be thinking of having a printed edition of the books.

Online Oxford Dictionary [http://www.buzzycode.com/ShowArticles-Online-Oxford-English-Dictionary-602.aspx]

You Should Read the Dictionary - I Know it Sounds Crazy, But You Will Be Glad You Did

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Who on Earth would bother to read the dictionary? Well, you are reading an article about someone who did and has read several dictionaries from cover to cover, and I must say has learned a lot along the way. And just in case you think I am crazy, did you know Bill Gates read the entire encyclopedia? Do you think Bill Gates is crazy? What is it that people who read reference books gain? Hmm, well, I think you ought to find out that answer to that yourself.

In fact, I am going to recommend that you read the dictionary, no, not the unabridged Oxford version that is one foot square and ten inches high, yes, I have one of those. It does have just about every word you'll ever read except for the create-a-word blogging bandits vocabulary. Rather, I am going to recommend that you read a smaller version with adequate print. My choice is the;

"Webster's Dictionary" with over 50,000 entries for home, school and office. Edited by John Gage Allee, Ph.D. 1978.

Why do I recommend an older version? Well it does not have all the new buzz words or recent words that you already know, so you are do not have any silly distractions. It's only 446 pages and that is not much bigger than a long novel. Yes the print is smaller than a novel, so maybe its equivalent to a 892 page book, but you can handle that, you are a grown up now. And even if you read only one letter per day you will finish in a month without breaking a sweat and your mind will have more time to soak it up too. Go for it.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio

Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema

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Filmmakers and film fans interested in more than a century of Hong Kong cinema can find what they're looking for in this new reference book. Stokes, a humanities and film professor who also wrote "City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema," includes enough background information to educate newcomers, while also adding plenty of scholarly insight to enlighten devoted film buffs, industry professionals, and even Hong Kong filmmakers.

This extensive reference begins with a chronology that traces the area's history back to its 1841 occupation by the British to the 2005 Hong Kong Entertainment Expo, which brought together eight creative events including the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Hong Kong Film Awards. A fascinating introduction follows the chronology, in which the movers and shakers in Hong Kong cinema are highlighted, in addition to economic, social, and political factors that influenced filmmaking there over the years.

The bulk of the book, of course, is the dictionary itself, which describes as well as defines the directors, actors, writers, films, production companies, genres, and other significant people, places, and things that surround Hong Kong Cinema. For example, let's say a reader wants to learn more about filmmaker Stephen Chiau, whose recent film Kung Fu Hustle broke box-office records in Hong Kong and enjoyed critical and economic success in the United States. Besides brief mentions in the front matter, his listing under "Chiau" provides his name in various languages, birth date, personal and professional background, a listing of his awards, partial listing of numerous television and film credits, descriptions of his acting/directing style, and insider information about his two big international hits Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. Readers also learn that he is called "The Chinese Jim Carrey" because of his slapstick and pratfalls. Boldfaced items listed under each dictionary entry (in the case of Stephen Chiau: Tony Leung-wai, Danny Lee, television, Golden Horse Awards, Michael Hui, Ng Man-tat, kung fu, martial arts, and Hong Kong Film Awards) represent cross-references with their own listings.

In the center of the book, a brief section is included with photographs of films and filmmakers cited in the text. "Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema" concludes with a bibliography that lists online, magazine, journal, and book sources used in compiling the text.

Stokes writes in the preface that her goal is to provide "a comprehensive and detailed overview of the immense contribution of Hong Kong to film culture." She surely succeeds in this endeavor, as the book will serve fans, filmmakers, and scholars ready to delve into the intricacies and peculiarities of Hong Kong cinema.

Copyright 2007

For more movie news and reviews visit: http://home.roadrunner.com/~lesliehalpern Central Florida entertainment writer Leslie Halpern wrote the book "Reel Romance. The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies" (Taylor Trade Publishing), which reviews date movies and suggests romantic ideas inspired by these films. She is also the author of "Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science" (McFarland & Company), an analysis of representations of sleeping and dreaming in more than 125 movies.

By Lisa Odham Stokes
Publisher: Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD
ISBN: 978-0-8108-5520-5
2007, Hardcover, 590 pages, $99.00