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The Marzio School CD-ROMs
CD-ROM 1 & 2, and
CD-ROM 3
What level is Real English designed for? This is usually a straightforward, easy-to-answer question, but in our case, an important nuance must be taken into consideration: the structures in CD-ROMs 1 and 2 are designed for beginners, CD-ROM 3, for intermediates, but the often shocking reality of spontaneous speech makes it challenging for learners at higher levels, including the very advanced. Both the videos and the CDs are based on the "real principle" (no actors, no actresses, just spontaneous, natural, "non-English teacher" speech), and both include people who are simply fun - fun to watch & listen to. All levels are in fact covered by the two types of media.
What the Critics Say:
"Visually this is a real feast! Definitely a killer app." Elizabeth Hanson-Smith, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Sacramento, director of the graduate TESOL Program Elizabeth Hanson-Smith, a renowned expert in the field, has not written a "review" per se. Rather, she made spontaneous remarks by email, addressed to the creators of the method, just after discovering Real English® for the first time. These remarks are printed below in their entirety: "I tried your CD again, and it worked just fine with the built-in mic. It's such a pleasure to have the speech recognition work on the little tests.A nifty device. Again I was struck by how charming the subjects of the video are. It is such a pleasure to hear real, natural, authentic speech coming from real people, not actors, with the occasional missteps and false starts and self-corrections that a learner would encounter in native-speaker speech. I assume you just took people off the street with very little coaching?In any case, the language has a very authentic ring to it, right down to the smiles and small gestures that people make when they are just getting to know someone. All the subtle clues to behavior are right there on video. The presentation of the alphabet was even a pleasure! Great concept and treatment! Each area of language gets sufficient presentation, so much so that the CD in effect re-creates the Natural Approach – lots of input. The videos – the people in them – are so interesting in and of themselves that you want to watch them again and again, even if you are a native speaker.I think you have captured something of what makes watching home videos on TV so attractive, e.g. Cops or You're on Candid Camera. I also had time to get more deeply into the grammar aspects. I see how some of the material is new and some recycled in each segment – good practice. And the exercises involve both direct repetition and transformation of forms. It builds pretty carefully from simpler to tougher exercises right up to the Review segment.The grammar charts and explanations are not necessarily helpful to the practice sessions, but are probably useful for the student to have so readily at hand. Her biography in brief:Professor Emeritus, California State University, Sacramento, where she was director of the graduate TESOL Program and the IEP. She now runs a private business, Computers for Education, as an educational technology consultant. She is co-editor of CALL Environments: Research, Practice, and Critical Issues with Joy Egbert (TESOL, 1999), and How to set up a Computer Lab: Advice for the Beginner (Athelstan Press), and is a columnist on technology issues for CAELL Journal and ESL Magazine. Check out her lead article in the March/April issue of ESL Magazine.
CD-ROM # 2 Lesson 1: Hi
and How are you? Lesson 2: Hi,
How are you? & What's your name? Lesson 3: The
alphabet in 4 English-speaking countries Lesson 4:
Where are you from? & What's your nationality? Lesson 5: What's
your name? How do you spell it? Lesson 6:
Review, lessons 1 to 6 Lesson 7: Numbers (number
chart, "how old are you?",
telephone numbers & license plate numbers) Lesson 8:
What time is it? Lesson 9: The
Jones family (to be + adjectives) Lesson 10: What's
your job? Lesson 11:
What's the weather like? Lesson 12: Directions:
"Can you tell me the way to?"
CD-ROM # 3 13: What
are the [Americans] [British] like? 14:
Introduction to "do" + révision 1-13 The present simple
: 15: What
do you do (for a living)? 16:
What do you do for fun? 17: "Like to do"
and "like doing" 18:
How long does it take? Prices:
Real English®
CD-ROMs Real English® CD-ROM 1
and 2 (one set of 2 CDs): 99 Euros + S&H Real English® CD-ROM
3: 59 Euros + S&H Real English® CD-ROM 1,
2, et 3 (les trois CD): 129 Euros + S&H Contact mike at real-english.com for all orders.
The Marzio School was founded in 1976. Real English was created in 1992. Copyright © 1992 - 2008 The Marzio School. Real English® is a registered trademark of The Marzio School. All rights reserved. |
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