Sorry for so many questions! Just want to know what are the major differences btw Side by Side- Longman國際英語教程 & primary school English textbooks? I wonder whether my boys will feel boring if they are somehow repetitive & most importantly I've no spare time to use 教程 to teach them by myself!
You can have a look of the content page first. You can also view the excerpts. For more details, go back to the descrirption and customer rating pages in Amazon (you can simply type Side by Side in the search field).
(Level 3 seems to have no sample page on Amazon, so I just show you Level 1 to give you an idea of how the kit is arranged)
A brief answer to your questions. I haven't bought any supplementary textbook material before and I actually have no idea about the text book used by other primary schools. I can therefore compare the Longman TOC textbook that my daughter's using.
SbS provides broader horizon when culture is concerned. Since it is basically set in American background, you can find there is a good mix of races in the characters. That include Chinese, Korean, Italian, Mexican, Russian etc. Though it does not go into great details, it gives the students kind of exposure that our local textbook may lack. Also, it introduces cultural differences, e.g. when talking about greetings, it says people around the world use different ways to greet each other, bow, shake hands, hug, kiss etc. But it didn't stop at that. It asks the question: so how do the people in your country greet each other? I find it quite interactive and interesting and I think the kids will benefit from this kind of activities.
Pronunciation is also covered. Systematic approach to grammar. Passages are interesting and sometimes humourous too. Activities provided,,e.g.role play. If you don't have time to use it with your boys, they can still learn it but will miss most of the fun.
This is not a textbook that intends to make one read from the first line through the last. Even with the demonstration on pronunciation, after the student reads after/ imitates the voice in the CD, there should be someone by his side to check it or correct it when neccesary. If you want to make the best of the material, parent's input is essential.
You're absolutely right in saying "if you want to make the best of the material, parent's input is essential" and that's why I'm so hesitated in making the purchase order!
ChanChan,
When you ordered the books from當當網, you paid by credit card or cash on delivery? ?-(