Yoko Matsuka - McGraw-Hill Books

ISBN: C08-000598-X
Goal-oriented English for Children
Yoko Matsuka
Glenn McDougall

Introducing
About the Authors
a new, exciting, and unique goaloriented
seven-level series for
elementary students
Yoko Matsuka discovered phonics
in 1976 while studying for her Masters
degree at California State University.
Seeing how useful it was for her own
children in studying English, she
decided to introduce it to Japan and
founded Matsuka Phonics Institute in
1979.
She is the author of numerous books
published in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
Along with her responsibilities as
president of Matsuka Phonics Institute,
she is also an adviser to NPO J-SHINE
(Japan Shogakko Instructors of English)
Yoko Matsuka
and a research fellow at Tamagawa
University. She has been a consultant to more than 1,000 Japanese
elementary schools.
Glenn McDougall
Glenn McDougall is a South
African-born writer and editor. He
graduated from Natal Technikon (now
Durban University of Technology) and
worked as a journalist from 1990 and
in the lead-up to South Africa’s first
democratic elections in 1994. During
the elections, he worked as the
Independent Electoral Commission’s
media liaison officer for Natal
Province. He emigrated to Australia
shortly thereafter where he pursued
his writing career and tutored in
journalism at Queensland University
of Technology in Brisbane.
Since moving to Japan in 2004, he has co-written several ELT titles
for children, including the award-winning Gorsch the Cellist with
Yoko Matsuka.
1

Student Books
We Can! Student Books
We Can! is a new, exciting, and unique goaloriented
seven-level series for elementary
students by one of Asia’s leaders in teaching
English to children. In We Can! Yoko
Matsuka provides the means for developing the three indispensable elements for
success in English—a good curriculum, a good teacher, and good teaching material.
“
How can students learn English in an environment where they don’t
need it The answer is We Can!—and there’s no magic in it. As students
clear the goals, one by one, they will naturally learn English.
— Yoko Matsuka
”
Easy to Evaluate
The 384 goals make progress easy to see
for students, teachers, and parents.
Spiral Curriculum
Students constantly recycle and reuse
previously learned language.
English for Real Communication
Students use English in a real, practical
way inside and outside the classroom.
Rhythm and Pronunciation
Students master rhythm and pronunciation
skills through songs, chants, movement,
drama, and role-plays.
Balanced Use of Phonics
Students learn good pronunciation and to
read and write on their own.
Expansion of Discourse
Students develop language competence
beyond the sentence level with carefully
designed, fun, experience-based activities,
and real interactions.
2
Student Book levels 1-6
3

We Can! English Club Website
www.wecanenglishclub.com
The fully interactive We Can! English Club
website is an integral part of the series.
Highlights include incentives for students
for the achievement of the 384 Goals and
real world electronic communication in English between students, as well as many other
great features. The site has been custom designed for teachers, students, and parents.
Student Book 1 Unit 6 pp. 46-47
Special Features for Children
Student Books
Website
Songs and Chants CD
• Enter Goals achieved and get quick visual
feedback on progress while traveling
around the world and gaining points.
• Email We Can! friends and communicate
in English (monitored and moderated by
teachers).
• Download lots of other fun stuff such as
games and activities.
Special Features for Parents
• Easy monitoring of children’s attainment
of Goals in English.
• Access information on how to help
children succeed in English.
• See children practice authentic
communication in English with other We
Can! students.
We Can! Songs and Chants CD
One of the unique features of We Can! is
its emphasis on helping children acquire
good English prosody using fun rhythm and
pronunciation practice. Over many years
of experience, the authors found that the
best way to help children hear and use the
rhythms and sounds of English is through
songs and chants. Over its seven levels,
We Can! offers a wide range of songs
and chants, including nursery rhymes,
traditional songs and chants, and original
compositions. With their natural English
rhythm and pronunciation and catchy beats
and music, they offer
excellent and compelling
models to young learners
of English.
The We Can! Songs and
Chants CD is a lively,
fun selection taken from
all seven levels of the
series. It offers teachers
extra audio support
material that children
are not only bound to
enjoy, but that will also
help them to speak with
excellent rhythm and
pronunciation right from
the beginning.
Student Book 1 Unit 6 pp. 48-49
Student Book 3 Unit 5 pp. 42-43
4 5

We Can! Starter
• Fun, playful, comprehensive picture dictionary
with songs, games, and activities.
• Presents core vocabulary for Levels 1 and 2,
offering powerful support for the rest of the
series.
• Student CD allows for independent study
and serves as a reference tool.
• Good for both groups and individuals.
Starter Student Book pp. 14 - 15
“
Starter
How can young children start learning English The answer
is We Can! Starter. This fun and information-packed
picture dictionary works by stimulating children’s naturally
bright and inquisitive minds and will answer many of their
who, what, where, why, and how questions.
– Yoko Matsuka
”
Starter Student Book
Hidden letters
and a special
“What’s Weird”
in every spread
appeal to children’s
natural learning
inclinations, such
as finding and
matching.
Starter Workbook
p. 6
Words are introduced individually and in
chunks or sentences to provide structure
and context for natural English learning.
Starter Workbook
6
Starter Student Book pp. 20 - 21
7
Starter Workbook p. 9

We Can! Workbooks
• Support and extend the features of
the Student Books.
• Designed for use with the Student
Books but can be used independently.
• Connect directly to the 384 program
goals so ensure students can achieve
them.
• Student CD allows independent study.
• Emphasis on listening and writing
helps students to remember what they
know.
• Packed with easy and fun quizzes,
puzzles, bingos, jokes and more.
“
Workbooks
How can we produce independent, self-directed students
who can really handle English on their own The answer is
We Can! Workbooks. These are not just for fun or filling
in time. Rather, they train students to use English on their
own, using the principles of: Do it and you’ll never forget.
Workbook 1 pp. 42 - 43
Think and you will learn.
– Yoko Matsuka
”
Workbook CD is
available for all
levels
8 9
Workbook levels 1 - 6
Workbook 1 pp. 44 - 45

“
Phonics
To help children become independent learners, it is necessary for them
to learn phonics, the matching of sounds and letters. Letters should be
learned through sounds, not vice versa.
– Yoko Matsuka
”
We Can! Phonics
Phonics is an ideal way for EFL students to
learn the sounds of the English language,
as many of the common sounds may not
exist in the students’ mother tongue. We
Can! Phonics 1-3 expand and extend the
solid phonics foundation laid down in the
core program, and move students towards
the goal of reading and writing on their own.
This allows them to become independent
learners and gives a firm foundation for all
the skills in English.
We Can! Phonics 1-3 were designed by
two of Japan’s phonics experts, after more
than 30 years’ experience observing and
teaching English to young learners. Their
understanding of the difficulties faced by
speakers of Asian languages in mastering
the letters and sounds in English has
resulted in a course that places great
importance on the phonemic awareness
stage, thereby helping students to unite
sounds with letters and dramatically
improve their reading, writing, and
pronunciation.
We Can! Phonics 1-3 also offer a wealth
of jingles, songs, and chants to cater to
children’s natural enjoyment of English
prosody. As children read differently from
adults, they can enjoy English even if at
the beginning they do not fully understand
the meaning.
Phonics Unique Features
• Build on the solid base established in
We Can! Student Books.
• Structured in small groups of easily
achievable steps to establish a solid
grasp of material before moving to the
next step.
• Methodical program with accompanying
CD suits both experienced and newer
teachers and independent learners.
• Integrated approach starts with
phonemic awareness: recognition of
sounds —>listening to differentiate
letters—>writing what is heard—>
listening again while reading.
• Worksheet scoring allows students to
monitor their own progress.
• Jingles, songs, and chants teach children
the fun of English rhythm while at the
same time building vocabulary.
• Lead naturally to independent reading,
not just at the word level but real text.
10 11
Phonics
levels 1 - 3
Phonics 1 pp. 6 - 7
Phonics p. 8
Phonics p. 9

Teacher’s Guide
• Comprehensive lesson plans with ideas
on how to set up activities and make
efficient use of class time.
• Optional activities offer variations of
an activity to keep students interested
and challenged.
• Extension Activities provide an effective
way to use the language learned in a
different context.
• Options offered on adjusting activities
for large and small groups.
Teacher Resources
“
This course has been designed not only with intermediate and
experienced teachers in mind, but also takes into account the
needs of first-time teachers. We Can! is as teacher-friendly as
we could make it, as our wish is that teachers grow alongside
their students as they work through the series.
– Yoko Matsuka
”
Teacher’s Guide levels 1 - 6
12
Flashcards
Posters
Class Audio CD
Songs and Chants CD
We Can! English Club Website
www.wecanenglishclub.com
The fully interactive We Can! English Club
website is an integral part of the series.
Highlights include incentives for students
for the achievement of the 384 Goals and
real world electronic communication in
English between students, as well as many
other great features. The site has been
custom designed for teachers, students,
and parents.
Special Features for Teachers
• View in-depth information available
about the We Can! series, including
sample pages for all components, plus
listen to sample audio.
• Create a teacher’s account and manage
students’ accounts.
• Visit the Teachers’ Forums and
Chatrooms to exchange information
and ideas.
• Download extra teacher resources:
worksheets, photocopiable masters,
games, lesson plans, and other support
material.
• View correlations of We Can! with the
CEF, CYL exams, and Eiken.
• Register for motivating events such
as professional development, teacher
training, and special We Can!
information sessions.
• Access all 384 program Goals and
easily monitor students’ progress.
13

Teacher Resources
Teacher’s Guides include Lesson Planner,
Tests, Audio scripts, and photocopiable
sheets.
Teacher’s Guide 1 p. 7 Teacher’s Guide 1 p. 94
• Light bulb tips to help teachers run classes more effectively.
• Goal check advice on how to handle the Goals at the end of each lesson.
Flashcards
14
Posters
15
Teacher’s Guide 1 p. 108 Teacher’s Guide 1 p. 114

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