Book of the Month
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl

Publisher: Penguin Readers
Author: Irene Trimble
€6.70

ISBN 978-1-405-85166-4

Elementary


Here's a good idea - take a film that you have probably seen in your native language, and then read the story in English. Because you already know the plot, you can follow the grammar and vocabulary without spending too much time trying to understand what is going on in the story. This appears to be the basic idea behind this new series of Penguin Readers, which have other titles including Men in Black and Mr Bean. We have earlier reviewed a Macmillan reader which dealt with soap opera characters from Dawson's creek so in a way this is the obvious next step.

The book is short, with only 43 pages, though these are decorated with glorious colour pictures taken from the film. Because the pictures will help to remind readers (at least those who have seen the film) of the incident they are reading about, the pictures are much more relevant than the colour pictures which make many EFL textbooks unnecessarily expensive. There are fifteen short chapters in all, each of 500-800 words, which is about enough to make up one lesson with a student at this level. At the back is a short vocaculary, which deals with words in the text which a student might not know - such as 'skeleton'. There are also 30 questions, along the lines of 'Read the first ten lines - what do you think happens next?' This section does not feel as well-planned as the rest of the book, but will help readers who are working without a tutor. Some versions of the book also have a CD.

Who is this book for? Anyone at the elementary level who wants some reading practice will enjoy this book - especially if he has seen the film. Reading is the best way to acquire vocabulary and familiarity with English grammar structures, and it's a good idea to have a topic that many readers will already feel familiar with. Older students might prefer to look elsewhere, including at the reading on this site, which is free.

Verdict: Good for Hallowe'em
Assessment 7/10


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