Why Use These Books?

The Jigsaw Books

These photocopiable group stories and exercises transform the classroom into a hub of communicative, cooperative activity. Stories focus on vocabulary building along common themes and stimulate discussion either through controversial questions in the areas of relationships and ethics or through cross-cultural comparisons.

  • each student has an essential role in the group
  • peer teaching lowers affective filter
  • stories improve listening skills
  • memorization trains the ear in the syntax patterns of English
  • stimulating discussions bridge the gap between advanced level cognitive skills & low level linguistic skills
  • clear illustrations make stories accessible to lower students
  • group questions practice writing skills
  • cloze exercises reinforce vocabulary, idioms & syntax patterns

The Non-Jigsaw Books

The non-jigsaw books on this site, Callan's ABCs, Callan's Canadian Holidays for Low Beginner ESL and Callan's Conversation Surveys for Beginner ESL target absolute beginner students whose English level is too low to comfortably handle jigsaws. These books feature abundant, clear illustrations and basic information, carefully avoiding complex or obscure vocabulary and pronunciations.