English teaching & learning! Tips, reflections & discussions!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

My Turn...


This is my first English book from when I was a 5th grader (1988, I guess...). It was very simple and even a bit silly, but back to those days when the kids didn't even dream about all these eletronic gadgets (the further our minds could go was an 8-bit Nintendo...) it made a lot of sense.


For instance, there was a 'memorable' lesson about 'Beto', an old speaking Volkswagen...

However, my point here is that this book was a lot closer to the Vygotsky's PDZ (Proximal Development Zone) concept than the materials we use nowadays, especially those designed to be used in the Brazilian Public Schools, which are so full of ideology but most of the time too deep for their target audience... 

Another thing about this book is that, for me, it was the beggining of everything. Actually, for a long time it was the only material I had for language learning. I studied in a public school, but we had to pay for the books, which were VERY expensive. I remember my mom paying for them in instalments... Anyway, I would see another language book only 7 years later, when I was 18 and finally got a job to afford an English Course.

But that's another 'turn' on the story...

2 comments:

  1. Wow - my first English book was an Amadeu Marques one and I jus remember there was a dollar bill on the cover. Nice post. It brought me sweet memories!

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    1. Thanks, man! Amadeus Marques is a kind of 'classic' author from this 'golden age'. I think it's always important to look back to our past as learners to better understand our students. Cheers!

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