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comprehensive coverage. But the most importantpiece of advice would give about using music in theEFL classroom is 'don't forget to plug in and switchon '

Madeleine du Vivier Oxford College of Further

Education an d University College LondonReferencesDomoney L. and S. Harris. 1993. Justified and

ancient: pop music in EFL classrooms in ELTJournal 47/3: 234-49.

The reviewerMadeleine du Vivier works at Oxford College ofFurther Education and University College London, asa teacher of General English and teacher trainer onpre-service and in-service courses. She previously

worked in London as Director of Studies at theLondon School of English and Principal of RegentLanguage Training. Besides her teaching and trainingwork she is currently involved in materials writing forLongman.

lassroom Observation asks

Ruth WajnrybCambridge University Press1992 145pp. £10.85ISBN 0 521 40722 2Classroom observation has become a crucialcomponent of 'client-centred' teacher developmentprogrammes (Nunan 1989), which aim at helpingteachers develop into reflective practitioners (Schbn1983) by encouraging critical thinking and selfevaluation as a basis for continued learning andexploration about teaching. One way of facilitatingthe process of becoming a reflective teacher isengaging the teachers in classroom observation taskswhich have clear objectives (Nunan 1989; Fanselow1990; Pennington 1990; Richards and Lockhart 1992;Swan 1993.)

In this vein, Classroom Observation Tasks aims atintroducing in-service and pre-service teachers totechniques and procedures for investigatingclassroom processes through a set of focused tasks.The aim of the book is to help teachers explore theirown teaching by observing other teachers andclassrooms in action by having their own teaching orclassroom observed, rather than to provide ananalysis of observation for assessment.

The book is divided into two parts: Introduction, andTasks. It also includes a three-page bibliography, atask index, and an author and topic index. In five mainsections, Part One sets out the purpose of the book,discusses who it is for, presents the five guiding

principles that underlie the design of tasks providedin Part Two, and the ca tegorization of these tasks intodifferent foci, and finally gives specific suggestionsfor how these tasks can be used in different contextsfor various purposes.

The aim of the book is defined as 'makingobservation in the classroom a learning tool.' (p. I)by giving guidance and structure to the process ofobservation through 'discovery-oriented, inquiry-based' tasks (p. 12). It is suggested that while thebook is addressed primarily to in-service teachers,trainee teachers, trainers, and trainee trainers can alsouse the tasks given in the book for their own purposes.

The five guiding principles that underpin this bookare: a model of teacher development, the nature ofhelp, the importance of the classroom, the trainabilityof observation skills, and the importance of task-based experience . These are discussed w ith referenceto the proponents of client-centred, reflectiveapproaches to ELT teacher education, such asRichards and Nunan (1990), Fanselow (1990),Prahbu (1987), and Freeman (1989), among others.Hence, the book echoes current concerns ofprogressive approaches to teacher development sincethe early 1980s, and aims at helping teachers developcritical observation skills, self-monitoring, andreflection on personal values.

In Part Two, classroom observation tasks are

presented in seven major sections: The Learner;Language Learning; The Lesson; Teaching Skills andStrategies; Classroom Management; Materials; andResources. Each task in these sections deals with anaspect of the central focus. For example, section 6(Classroom Management) is divided into thefollowing subsections, with their related tasks:patterns of interaction, managing pair and groupwork, teaching and learning roles, timing, pace, andclassroom power. Each of these subsections follows apattern: a background statement about the particularaspect of the classroom behaviour that is to be

focused on, then an explanation of the purpose of thetask, followed by a section on procedure. Theprocedure section consists of three phases: 'Beforethe lesson' gives instructions about variouspreliminary activities related to a particular facet of alesson to be observed; 'During the lesson' givesguidance for data collection through seating charts,movement plans, and observation grids, to facilitatedata collection; 'After the lesson' includes guidingquestions for discussion, analysis, and interpre-tations, as well as short paragraphs providingbackground information about topics related to the

particular aspect of the classroom selected forobservation in that subsection. The three phases ineach subsection are followed by another phase whichincludes awareness-raising questions to encouragereflection on one's own personal values and practices.

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The observation tasks provided in Part Two requireactive engagement in all phases of classroomobservation. Like other examples of their kind, (seefor example Nunan 1989; Pennington 1990; Bartlett1990) the value of these tasks lies in the spirit ofreflection and exploration they engender. However,

as the author admits, due to the categorization of thetasks into seven major foci of observation, topics arenot approached from every potential perspective, anda particular aspect of the classroom might fall intomore than one focus area. On the other hand, thealphabetical task index helps readers to find taskseasily, so that they can select them on the basis of theirown needs or purposes.

Like Understanding Language Classrooms byNunan (1989), the book's primary value lies in itsdirect application for pre-service and in-service

teacher training courses. In this it is rather differentfrom other related works in the field of classroomobservation by Allwright (1988), Chaudron (1988),and Van Lier (1988). The book is of a practical natureand includes references for further reading in thefield, but the author could have extended the list ofreferences to include the books mentioned aboveperhaps, in the background sections of Part Two whendiscussing particular aspects of the classroom to beobserved, such as lesson phases and transitions,lesson breakdowns, the language of questions, givinginstructions, openings and closures, etc. Moreover,while the author emphasizes the importance of howteachers' thoughts, judgem ents, and decisionsinfluence the nature of second or foreign languageinstruction in Unit Four, she could have referred toNunan (1989) for more detailed information on thecognitive dimensions of teaching and learning.

In short, believe that the main value of the book willbe as an introductory source book for teacher trainees,in-service teachers, or teacher trainers to draw onwithin the framework of practical pre-service or in-service teacher development programmes.

Ayse AkyelBoga zici University Istanbul

ReferencesAllwright D. 1988. Observation in the Language

Classroom. New York: Longman.Bartiett L. 1990. 'Teacher development through

reflective teaching ' in J. C. Richards and D. Nunan.Chaudron C. 1 988. Second Language Classrooms:

Research on Teaching and Learning New York:Cambridge University Press.Fanselow, J. F. 1990. '"Let's see'": contrasting

conversations about teaching ' in J. C. Richards andD. Nunan.

Freeman, D. 1989. 'Learning to teach: fourinstructional patterns in language teachereducation'. Prospect All.

Nunan D. 1989. Understanding LanguageClassrooms: Guide for Teacher-Initiated Action.New York: Prentice Hall.

Pennington M. C. 1990. 'A professionaldevelopment focus for the language teachingproblem' in J. C. Richards and D. Nunan.

Prahbu N. S. 1987. Second Language Pedagogy.Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Richards J. C. and D. Nunan. (eds.) 1990. SecondLanguage Teacher Education. New York:Cambridge University Press.

Richards J. C. and C. Lockhart. 1992. Teacherdevelopment through peer observation'. TESOLJournal 2/2: 7-14 .

Schon D. 1983. The R eflective Practitioner. NewYork: Basic Books.

Sw an, J. 1993. 'Metaphor in action: the observationschedule in a reflective approach to teacherdevelopment'. ELT Journal 47/3: 212-45.

Van Lier L. 1 988. The Classroom and the LanguageLearner. London: Longm an.

The reviewerAy§e Akyel is an associate professor in the School ofEducation, Bogazici University, where she teachescourses in TEFL methodology. She has published

articles on teacher training, the teaching of literaturein the EFL context, developing language skills, andESP.

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