Traveller Elementary Student Book: A Review
If you are looking for a course book that can help you learn English from the beginner to the advanced level, you might want to check out the Traveller series by MM Publications. In this article, we will focus on the Traveller Elementary Student Book, which is the second level of the series. We will look at its features, advantages, and disadvantages, and give you our opinion on whether it is worth buying or not.
Traveller Elementary Student Book
What is the Traveller Elementary Student Book?
The Traveller Elementary Student Book is a course book for teenage and young adult learners of English. It follows the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which is a standard for describing language proficiency. The Traveller Elementary Student Book corresponds to the A1+ level of the CEFR, which means that it is suitable for learners who can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases, and who can introduce themselves and others, ask and answer questions about personal details, and interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly.
The Traveller Elementary Student Book is organized into eight topic-based modules, each consisting of four units. The topics cover a wide range of subjects, such as family, hobbies, travel, culture, education, health, and environment. Each unit has four sections: A, B, C, and D. Section A introduces the main vocabulary and grammar of the unit through dialogues and texts. Section B provides further practice of the vocabulary and grammar through exercises and activities. Section C focuses on developing reading and listening skills through authentic texts and audio recordings. Section D offers a variety of communicative tasks that allow learners to use the language in real-life situations.
What are the advantages of the Traveller Elementary Student Book?
There are many advantages of using the Traveller Elementary Student Book as your course book. Here are some of them:
It is motivating and contemporary. The topics are relevant and interesting for teenage and young adult learners, and they include multicultural and cross-curricular information that can broaden their horizons. The dialogues present real spoken English that learners can relate to and use in their own conversations. The texts and audio recordings are engaging and informative, and they expose learners to different accents and varieties of English.
It is integrated and systematic. The Traveller Elementary Student Book covers all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in a balanced way. It also pays special attention to vocabulary building and grammar presentation and practice. The reading and listening sections develop subskills such as skimming, scanning, predicting, inferring, etc. The writing section follows a step-by-step approach that guides learners from generating ideas to producing a final product. The communicative tasks encourage critical thinking and personal response.
It is practical and autonomous. The Traveller Elementary Student Book provides practical tips that help learners to become autonomous learners. For example, it teaches them how to use dictionaries, how to learn new words, how to self-correct their mistakes, etc. It also includes a round-up section in each module that provides regular revision and consolidation. At the end of the book, there is a grammar reference section that summarizes the main grammar points covered in the book. There are also culture/cross-curricular pages with web links that learners can explore on their own.
What are the disadvantages of the Traveller Elementary Student Book?
No course book is perfect, and the Traveller Elementary Student Book also has some disadvantages. Here are some of them:
It is expensive. The Traveller Elementary Student Book costs $29.99 on Amazon, which is quite high compared to other course books at the same level. Moreover, if you want to have access to other components such as the workbook, the teacher's book, the class CDs, the DVD, etc., you have to pay extra for them. This might not be affordable for some learners or teachers.
It is not available online. The Traveller Elementary Student Book does not have an online version that learners can access from anywhere. They have to buy the physical book or the CD-ROM, which might not be convenient for some learners or teachers. Moreover, some of the web links in the book might be outdated or broken, which can affect the quality of the learning experience.
It is not very flexible. The Traveller Elementary Student Book follows a fixed structure and sequence that might not suit every learner's needs or preferences. For example, some learners might find the vocabulary and grammar too easy or too difficult, or they might want to skip some topics or units that they are not interested in. Some teachers might also want to adapt or supplement the book with their own materials or activities, which might not be easy to do with the Traveller Elementary Student Book.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Traveller Elementary Student Book is a course book that has many advantages and some disadvantages. It is a motivating and contemporary book that covers all four skills in an integrated and systematic way. It also provides practical tips and resources that help learners to become autonomous learners. However, it is also expensive, not available online, and not very flexible. Therefore, whether it is worth buying or not depends on your budget, your learning style, and your learning goals. You can also check out some sample pages and audio files from the book on the MM Publications website before you make your decision.
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