Title:  Beyond

Publisher:  Macmillan

Author(s): Robert Campbell, Rob Metcalf, Rebecca Robb Benne

Reviewed by: Alex Warren

Published date: 2014 - Review date: November 2015

Criterion       Overall Rating                4.5       

Originality           5

The key to any successful teen course is engaging the students. This is done by using age appropriate, up-to-date and universally-appealing topics and content, then exploiting that in a visual, varied, motivating and engaging way. And being original in doing so. Get their attention, get them involved = get them learning. With this in mind Beyond looks to do all the above, covering all the topics you’d expect as a teenage English language learner. From extreme sports, digital footprints, street art and frenemies (B1+) to storytelling, the way we are, film and my generation (B2), it tries to cover topics that are relevant to teenagers. If it’s relevant, it’s interesting and students are able to be involved in the learning process. There are of course more serious topics covered including life goals and learning from the past (B2) and jobs, crime and money (B1+), as learning is meant to be educational as well as enjoyable!

Where Beyond really excels is not only in the quality and sheer mass of materials but also in the variety of areas that it covers in doing so. It may not always be completely original in what it does, but it is always fresh. Where it does look to differ, though, is with the inclusion of the Language & Beyond lessons and the accompanying online Life Skills materials. These lessons are divided into five different categories – Know Yourself, Get Thinking, Get Organised, Respect Others and Communicate & Cooperate. Within these areas students are exposed to topics such as dealing with peer pressure (B1+ Unit 2), taking responsibility for your actions (B1+ Unit 6), making decisions (B1+ Unit 9), learning from mistakes (B2 Unit 4), respecting rules and boundaries (B2 Unit 7) and being a successful non-native speaker (B2 Unit 10). The aim is clear – to raise students’ awareness of issues and challenges in life and to help them develop skills (ie life skills) to deal with them. This is done by giving the students different situations and encouraging them to discuss them in small groups before reflecting on them. While they are not what you might call a conventional lesson, my students really enjoyed taking part in them, especially those where there was a good mix of nationalities and therefore different ideas.

As with other teen and junior courses, Beyond also has a focus on CLIL, though these come as downloadable worksheets (from the Teacher Resource Centre) rather than being dealt with in the main coursebook. There are five of them for each level and they are linked to every two units. So we get ICT, (B1+ Unit 2, Digital Footprints,) Science (B1+ Unit 6, Crime Scene) and Sociology (B1+ Unit 8, Frenemies) as well as Geography and History lessons. Where these CLIL lessons differ slightly is that they are all blended lessons with students required to do some online research as part of the lesson, thus also developing their research and computer skills. The fact that it takes students out of the traditional classroom environment (unless using tablets in class) is a good thing as it encourages students to take more responsibility for their own learning. Certainly they appreciate this change of focus and pace, whilst also putting them into an environment with which they are very familiar.

Another downloadable extra is the selection of standalone Culture lessons. As with the CLIL lessons these are standalone extras, though they are linked to the topics of the odd units in the book. They have a more international theme to them and therefore a more cultural feel too, thus again fulfilling the aim of educating through English. The Teacher Resource Centre is also the source for the project lessons, a staple of any teen course. These range from creating your own board game and designing a space colony (B1+) to creating a start-up and writing a ‘how to’ manual (B2). The inclusion of the projects is an important feature as it gives control to the students, allowing them to use their imagination and to develop their own ideas, as well as being good for team-building and cooperative skills. It’s also a great way to change the focus of a class and the students on our summer courses really enjoyed being able to put the coursebook away, relishing the opportunity to work independently as part of a group. So, once again, it is clear to see that a lot of thought has gone into the creation of the course and all of the components.

Another feature original to the course is its strong link to Cambridge exams, specifically First for B1+ and B2 levels. While it shouldn’t be seen as a full-on exam course, it could certainly be used alongside one or purely as an introduction to the exam. The exam skills and practice tasks are specifically dealt with in the Progress Check pages after every second lesson and cover all the reading and Use of English types, as well as listening and writing tasks. Certainly this is a welcome addition and adds a further dimension to the course as a whole.

Video content is also well incorporated into the course, firstly through the Moving Picture section of the introduction lesson and then in the speaking focused lesson. The Moving Picture videos are generally more authentic with the content varying from vox pop interviews, slide shows, documentary clips and YouTube- type videos. With additional worksheets downloadable from the Teacher Resource Centre, they add another dimension to the lesson. The speaking lessons and videos focus on functional language (checking and correct understanding, agreeing and disagreeing, expressing regret, asking for advice B1+, making conversation, expressing opinions, taking part in a debate) with the situations acted out by a group of teenagers. It’s as you would expect, but they provide a good model for the students to copy when it comes for them to roleplay the different situations. Roleplay is always a tricky one with teenagers with a lot of students being very self-conscious. But by providing a model and a safe and supportive learning environment it can give them the confidence they need, thus it’s a useful aspect of the course.

Clearly then, there is much to like about Beyond in what it is trying to achieve and the way in which it goes about its business. It is certainly original in many respects, not least in the way in which it tries to incorporate so many different areas into one complete and all-encompassing course.

Practicality           4

The course is set out in such a way to make it very user-friendly and easy for students and teachers alike to pick up and go, and this is very much a strength of the course. Each of the ten units is split into nine distinct lessons, allowing for flexibility in what you choose to teach and allowing you to prioritise areas. The opening spread is a gentle opener of a vocabulary lesson with video content that introduces the theme of the unit. This is then followed by reading, grammar 1, listening and vocabulary, grammar 2, Language & Beyond, speaking and writing lessons before ending with a unit review. Every second unit is also followed by a Progress Check. The fact that each lesson comprises just one page means that students are never overloaded with input on just one system, skill or topic. Essentially what this set-up provides is variety and that is vital. By not getting stuck on one particular area for too long and with a variety of source input, plus a mix of skills and systems work, the students are kept interested, motivated and most importantly, not bored.

The lessons themselves are clearly titled with aims made explicit. They are well set-up with good, logical staging making it easy for teachers to teach and easy for students to follow. The grammar lessons use appropriate methodology (PPP), with target language given good context (mainly through short texts), before using a mix of noticing and inductive learning tasks. As with any level or age of student, encouraging students to learn in this way is always more productive – in any case the Grammar Database at the back of the book is always well sign-posted for the more concrete learner. This is then followed by some controlled practice and then freer personalised tasks, with plenty more available online and in the workbook.

The reading lessons are similarly well structured (discussion, input, reaction) with a specific subskills focus identified at the top of each page. These include such areas as transferring information, making notes for a summary, recognising and understanding language (idioms, similes), inferring from context (B1+), understanding opinions and purpose, recognising main ideas, emphasis and tone and reading between the lines (B2). This is really important and an impressive feature of the course, in that it’s not just using readings for comprehension or as a context for grammar and vocabulary, but actual skills development. The same goes for the listening lessons – they too focus on developing skills but also on developing vocabulary too through presenting it in context.

The writing lessons also follow a similar pattern and cover a wide range of text type at the same time. So as well as learning how to write emails, articles, letters (formal and informal), reviews, reports and essays, students also learn how to avoid repetition, develop an argument, editing and proofreading. The lessons generally follow a product writing approach, with models analysed before students planning and writing their own.

Each unit is rounded off with a review page which focuses on the language input from the unit as well as a CEFR linked skills check. While this could be used as a test, it is not necessary as the downloadable online tests are excellent. These come as separate grammar and vocabulary, reading, listening, writing and speaking PDFs, meaning that the teacher can mix and match as they see fit, focussing on what the students really need. These are then backed up with the inclusion of the Progress Checks at the end of every second unit as well as downloadable review and extension worksheets for grammar and vocabulary. What this means is that the teacher should never be short of controlled practice tasks, or materials for homework.

At this point it’s worth mentioning that the whole book is also available in digital format as a downloadable Presentation Kit. It is essentially IWB software and works in the same way as other systems, with all audio and video embedded, activities made more interactive and answers only a click away. It might not be something to use every day, but for a change of focus and some eyes-up learning, it’s well worth downloading and having ready to go. It just adds to the flexibility and practicality that the course offers in general.

The final component to bring this all together is the Teacher’s Book which looks to make sure everything runs like clockwork. Starting off by highlighting the focus of each stage lesson and how long each stage should take, it goes on to provide comprehensive notes on warmers, procedures, cultural notes (Go Beyond for Teachers) ideas for extra activities and homework. All standard stuff, but done in a clear and easy to follow way. What’s also really helpful is that there is support for differentiation, something which is often more prevalent in classes of teenagers. In this respect there are ideas for extra activities for fast finishers as well as alternative procedures for more confident students.

Then there’s the workbook, which is very comprehensive. With an additional 12 pages of material re-contextualising reviewing, recycling and target language, it’s definitely thorough. It follows the same pattern as the main coursebook (minus the Language & Beyond lesson), with an extended page writing lesson at the end, which is then followed by additional vocabulary and grammar review pages. All of this is also available in the online workbook which mirrors it exactly, only in a more interactive and fun way. For students motivated to learn it is a real cornucopia of practice. Teachers too can very much take advantage of this, using it to manage student progress with great ease. If that wasn’t already enough, students can also access the Student Resource Centre online where they can download additional grammar and vocabulary practice, the project lessons as well as the audio and video content for the main course. Having access to the audio content is particularly useful, especially for those that struggle with listening and those who might not only be present for the whole of the course but want to continue using it for self-study.

The only negative from a practical point of view is that there are almost too many components to the course. Trying to fit everything in (the coursebook, the CLIL, Culture, Life Skills lessons, projects, tests… the list goes on) is just not possible or at least very hard, so it’s left to the teacher to prioritise. However, this is a good dilemma to have – better too much than too little. The key thing to note is that the units are well structured and the lessons well staged with clear aims, thus making it very user friendly for teachers and students alike.

Presentation         5

As soon as you pick Beyond up, you know exactly who it’s aimed at. It has teens written all over it. It makes use of lots of bright colours, lots of pictures, cartoons, funky fonts and design and this is great as it’s instantly motivating for students. Basically it looks fresh, lively and fun and while there is plenty going on over each page the design is clear with plenty of signposting to ensure that students don’t get lost. In this respect it certainly hits the brief of being engaging.

What outstanding strengths/ weaknesses do you feel this title possesses?

Strengths

• Up-to-date, relevant, interesting and motivating topics
• Clearly set out, designed and very easy to follow and use
• A good mix of systems and skills
• Huge amount of additional online/ downloadable practice material plus video, culture, CLIL, life skills and project lessons all helping making it a very varied and well-rounded course
• Strong links to Cambridge exams gives a good introduction to those exams
• Supportive Teacher’s Book.

Weaknesses

• Having so much additional material may cause teachers a few headaches in trying to get everything in
• Even though there is lots of controlled practice, there’s a lack of ‘games’ and communicative activities to support the vocabulary and grammar input.

On which courses do you envisage being able to use this material?

As well as being appropriate for schools working on a yearly syllabus programme, Beyond is also perfect for junior summer centres and junior short courses, regardless of if they’re working on continuous enrolment or otherwise. As there is such a wealth of material, it’s possible to pick and choose the areas you want to focus on and you don’t lose anything by doing so.

The course could also be used as an introduction to the range of Cambridge exams with which there is a strong link. Many of the writing tasks replicate those in the First exam, (opinion essays, stories, reviews, formal and informal letters,) while the downloadable speaking practice activities are more explicitly based on the Cambridge exams for each level (B1 and B1+ First, A2+, B1 Preliminary, A2 KEY). This link is all the more apparent in the Progress Checks. There are First reading tasks, (gapped texts, multiple choice, multiple-matching,) Use of English activities, (open clozes, multiple choice clozes, word-building, sentence transformation,) listening (Parts 1-4) and writing tasks. Accompanying each one is an exams tip box to support and train the student in how to go about doing the different task types. So, while not appropriate for a focused First course, it certainly acts as a very good introduction to the tricky task types of that exam. By the same token, the course also covers many of the topic areas and grammar for Trinity exams (ISE, GESE), so could also be used on courses with that as a focus, although explicit material would be needed to supplement it.

Other comments

There’s no denying that Beyond is an exceptionally thorough course and having decided to use the course at various levels over the summer this year it was rewarding to see how enthusiastically the students responded to the content and how much they enjoyed it at all levels (A2-B2). Similarly all the teachers who used it were universal in their support of it. So, all things considered, it’s hard to ignore the strengths that Beyond brings to the teen ELT market. It covers all bases (and more) and in doing so is a course that appeals to students, motivating them to learn. It’s also easy for teachers to pick up and teach. What more could you want?

© Copyright BEBC REVIEW PANEL 2015 – this review may be reproduced but only with this acknowledgement