English in Mind for Bulgaria:

the international bestseller adapted for Bulgarian 8th

graders

Our aims: to look at the new 8th-grade

curriculum together

to take you briefly through the adaptation process of English in Mind

to convince you that English in Mind for Bulgaria is the best choice for your language classroom :)

The new 8th-grade curriculum

Who is it designed for? eighth-grade students with intensive foreign

language learning (648 teaching hours)

What are its major aims? to outline the priorities in English teaching to contribute to the integration of English in

the school curriculum to enhance students’ personal development

through enriching their cultural knowledge and building correct models of social behaviour in instances of intercultural communication

More specifically the curriculum aims to: develop learners’ skills and behavioral

strategies for effective use of English, taking into consideration students’ practical needs both in and outside the classroom

contribute to the other spheres of cognition through developing skills of general nature: analysis, synthesis, associative thinking, logical connections, deduction, etc.

raise learners’ awareness of English as a linguistic system

as well as to

develop learners’ skills for using English as a medium for acquiring new information in other curriculum subjects

form positive attitudes towards learning English as well as to understand other peoples’ culture and civilization

ensure students’ satisfaction from the learned material and the acquired skills

Why ‘English in Mind’?

International reputation

Bulgarian MoE approval

Positive feedback from Bulgarian teachers already using the course book

‘English in Mind for Bulgaria’ and the Curriculum

analysis of correspondence

meticulous adaptation process

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the adaptation process

adding BG realia, texts and tasks related to Bulgaria.

Task: Browse a copy of Part 1 of English in Mind for Bulgaria. What kinds of realia, texts or tasks related to Bulgaria can you find?

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the adaptation process adding new and expanding existing:

grammar issues

topic areas

skills

teacher’s notes (for all changes and additions)

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the adaptation process

revising the word list to include new items from added texts

supplying the revised word list with Bulgarian translation

preparation for the end-of-year test (downloadable from www.pons.bg, to be periodically updated)

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the result

Three levels with modular structure Task: Get into groups of 3 – each one

looking at a different part of EIM and then answer the following questions:

1. How many modules are there in your book?

2. What are their titles? 3. How does each module start and end?

Why?

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the result

Choice of text, artwork and design – in compliance with students’ cognitive and psychological needs

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the result Strong grammatical and vocabulary syllabi

taking into consideration students’ mixed abilities and different learning styles (balance, pace, gradation)

Task: Work in small groups. Browse your copies of English in Mind for Bulgaria. Find examples of how the Student’s Book deals with the Present Perfect Tense (simple and continuous)? What is the gradation?

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the result Cross-curricular links

Mathematics Geography History Sports Music Languages Biology

English in Mind for Bulgaria: the result Positive teaching/learning experience

guaranteed by: clear tasks carefully designed exercises opportunities for students to check their own

work opportunities for oral and written expression support for independent learning recycling and extending of previously covered

material

English in Mind for Bulgaria – core components

for Levels 1, 2 and 3:

Student’s Book + class CDs /cassettes

WB + audio/CD-ROM with additional practice

Teacher’s Book

English in Mind – additional components Teacher’s Resource Pack English in Mind Dictionary DVD with activities Website resources

http://www.cambridge.org/elt/englishinmind/ Language portfolio Whiteboard software (under development

– to be available by autumn 2009)

English in Mind for Bulgaria – the best choice for your classroom

EIM for BG – a perfect combination of

the Ministry’s concept of a syllabus for Bulgarian 8th graders

the brilliant ideas of the authors of English in Mind (CUP) – Herbert Puchta and Jeff Stranks

Thank you

Syana Harizanova & Desi Zareva