This concept is reflected throughout the book’s instructional strategies, so teachers can be sure they are compelling students to become intrinsically motivated in their English studies. The chapter explains various aspects of English language teaching and learning that one would only encounter in ESL teacher courses. This includes the variety of acronyms used in TESOL, the stages of language development, Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) versus Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), and a quick overview of ESL best practices which provides the basic do’s and don’ts of language teaching.

In Chapter 2, “ESL Classroom Basics: Building a Positive and Effective Learning Environment,” the authors explore the notion of creating an engaging and supportive classroom. This does not directly deal with a specific language skill, yet it is an essential foundation for all ESL classrooms before learning can take place. This is why this chapter comes before all others in the book. The chapter introduces the three-­‐Rs relationships, resources and routines–which are then detailed further with specific strategies. We see eight different activities for encouraging relationship–growth between teacher and student as well as student and student. The ice-­‐breaker ideas integrate multiple language skills and are meant to encourage students to move about the classroom, expressing themselves freely to their peers and teacher. The resource ideas range from classroom word walls to meaningful technology use.

Parts two and three, intended for beginning and intermediate ELLs respectively, each contain two chapters. The first chapters of parts two and three are dedicated to “Key Elements of a Curriculum” and give explicit instruction for several teaching and learning activities. While the chapters are divided into “Reading and Writing” and “Speaking and Listening,” readers will see that all the activities integrate more than one language skill. The activities vary greatly, so there is something in this book for every teaching style. The chapter begins with a list of the California English Language Development domains for each language level, which are then referenced after each activity to verify the domains being satisfied.

The second chapters are intended for “Daily Instruction for ELLs.” While the first chapter covers different elements for the ESL classroom, “Daily Instruction” details the application of these elements to the classroom on a daily basis. It covers ideas for student reflection before and after activities, homework assignments, inspiring field trip ideas that correlate to the material, and methods of assessment. Perhaps what helps the book live up to its “survival guide” name is the Sample Week section that outlines a lesson plan for each day of the week, each day being subdivided into “Speaking and Listening” and “Reading and Writing” activities. The remainder of the chapter is

TESL-EJ 17.2, August 2013 Ferlazzo & Hull Sypnieski/Christino 2