Testimonials

 

Testimonials for Callan's ABCs:

"Today, I did a page from Callan's ABCs in my lowest level 1 class. One of my lowest students, who normally does not volunteer anything, spoke up and said, "This paper very good!" I think the book is perfect for beginners. The pictures are clear and the exercises are excellent for very low students. My students always feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing our daily section from the book."

Svetlana Mitrovic

 

"My beginning adult students received these ABCs the way they received new Canadian food: with great interest, pleasure, and satisfaction.  Teaching sound-letter association was a breeze using the clear illustration pages and the easy-to-use question and answer pages.  There was something in every lesson for every student in a class full of people with different first languages, educational backgrounds, and exposure to the alphabet. I'd recommend these lessons to any teacher of beginning ESL students."

Anna Morgan-Wold

 

 Dear Nancy,

Last January I began to teach a pre-literate and low beginner class of ESL here in Saskatoon.  One of the pre-literate boys who had not been very engaged thus far really began to work when we tried the Intermediate Valentine’s Jigsaw which we adapted for the literacy/beginner level by adding pictures after the underlined words.  This young man only had two lines to learn but he worked very hard to do so.

This fall, six and half months later, he and others were involved in a language proficiency test.  I was observing the testing, and the test administrator was asking them to write down words that were being spoken. As the test became more difficult, this young man became discouraged since he could not write down the words being spoken. He looks over at me and, from six and half months ago, recites his lines from the Valentine’s day jigsaw to show to me and the tester, that he had been learning. Wow! I was totally amazed.

Whether pre-beginner or intermediate, your jigsaw activities engage all the learners, help them acquire language cooperatively, and give the students a sense of self-satisfaction that has a lasting impact on them.

Thanks so much for all your hard work creating these activities. They are truly invaluable.

Sincerely,

Elaine
Saskatoon, SK

 

 

“So far I've found the books to be really successful in the classroom and have adapted many of my own materials to fit this format.”

—Rachel Spence

 

 

“I love the whole series and use your jigsaws weekly.”

—Laura Butt, Saskatchewan

 

 

“It’s a very good book. [Callan's Canada Jigsaws] It made me proud to be a Canadian. I learned a few things. I could certainly see the amount of work that went into it and the pedagogical complexity behind it. You really deserve a lot of credit.”

Barry Link
Editor, Vancouver Courier

 

 

If you have a story of how jigsaws have helped your ESL teaching please email your story to Nancy Callan.