Jonathan Solity

The publication of the Michel Thomas ground-breaking, all-audio language learning materials has been a publishing phenomenon. Sales of over one million units in just eight years and the universal acclaim his method has excited would indicate that there is a large body of people who want to know more about how and why his method works where so many others have failed. The book will give a brief history of Michel's fascinating life and summarise how he became interested in teaching foreign languages, before going on to look at the experience of learning a foreign language in general and Michel's method of teaching in particular. It examines the barriers to language learning in both the UK and the US, Michel's focus on the role and quality of the teacher rather than the learner, and Michel's core belief that with the right teaching anyone can learn another language quickly and easily. The reader will be introduced to new trends in psychology and their relationship to the way Michel teaches foreign languages as well as examining conventional wisdoms. There follows a detailed analysis of Michel's programmes for foreign language teaching and the implications for schools, colleges and universities if they wish to adopt his methodology and at the same time meet the requirements of the public examinations both in the UK and the US.

In an increasingly centralized education system, how can teachers recover the freedom to make their own decisions?Originally published in 1990, the teaching profession had seldom been under greater pressure. Teachers in Control aimed to help teachers to understand the forces that shaped their personal and professional development and their relationships with children at the time. It identifies the pressures that teachers faced, from both the school and the educational system as a whole, and then examines the internal, psychological influences that lead people into teaching and direct their future careers. The authors argue that an understanding of these influences can give teachers more control of decisions that affect their practice in the classroom and will still be very relevant today.

In an increasingly centralized education system, how can teachers recover the freedom to make their own decisions?Originally published in 1990, the teaching profession had seldom been under greater pressure. Teachers in Control aimed to help teachers to understand the forces that shaped their personal and professional development and their relationships with children at the time. It identifies the pressures that teachers faced, from both the school and the educational system as a whole, and then examines the internal, psychological influences that lead people into teaching and direct their future careers. The authors argue that an understanding of these influences can give teachers more control of decisions that affect their practice in the classroom and will still be very relevant today.

How to manage a class is probably the major worry of all teachers in training and young teachers new to the job. This book shows how psychological principles, strategies and tools can be applied to improve classroom practice.