Reading time: less than 1 minute
NEW ENGLISH FILE iPACK
Clive Oxenden, Christina
Latham-Koenig, Paul Seligson
Oxford University Press, 2008
Ever since I first came in contact with Interactive White Boards (IWB), I could not help but wonder what effect that would have on EFL published material. The first move seemed obvious. There would be digital versions of books. The New English File iPack, however, is much more than that.
Apart from containing the entire course content, including audio and video, it also has extra material such as revision quizzes, grammar games, vocabulary activities, study link references, and the English File sounds chart with audio.
It is clear that OUP has made every possible effort to make the iPack as user friendly as possible. Large toolbar icons, easy navigation and a layout which is exactly the same as the printed book, make it accessible to teachers who are less technology-inclined.
Those who bother to read the teacher’s guide will find it abounds in useful teaching tips. Teachers can use the “do-what-you-want tools” to develop their own ideas, include teaching notes, and can adapt the material to their hearts’ content.
The more adventurous teacher might long for an even more flexible version, which could allow for changes in the layout and background colour, selection of pictures, and the possibility to add and edit text.
As it is, the iPack will certainly prove to be an invaluable tool for teachers who use the New English File. I highly recommend it.
The reviewer
Gustavo Gouveia holds an MA in Media Technology for TEFL from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He has worked as a teacher, coordinator and teacher trainer for the Cultura Inglesa in Recife for over twenty years.
