23.09.2010 09:39
Teaching tip: 'Network Now Starter' - Now me (Unit 2, page 46)

This month's theme is 'personalisation'. Making your lessons more relevant for your students means not only more fun but it encourages your learners to speak – everyone likes to talk about themselves! That's why the 'Network Now' team has decided to include a page after each Unit which allows your students to do just that. Read more on the 'Now me' page and how to integrate it into your lessons.

You’ll have already received your sample copy of a Unit of Network Now Starter - Unit 2 - in the post, including the Language and culture page, the Magazine pages and the Now me page. You can also find this sample material online on our Network Now site. Just click here:

… and have a look. You’ll find Now me on page 46 in the Network Now Starter book.

You will find a Now me page, which is a new feature of Network Now Starter, after each Unit of Network Now Starter. On this page the main topics from the Unit are visualised again. For Unit 2 these are: giving personal information; understanding where and when something is happening; making suggestions; colours and the days of the week.

The Now me pages allow the learners to repeat what they’ve learnt in the Unit by making the topics more personal for them. This is made very clear in the subtitle, The page for me and about me. As the Now me pages are about allowing learners to bring in personal information, try to give them every opportunity to talk about themselves.

Encourage your learners to photocopy this page and put it in their Portfolios. For more information on the Portfolio, just click on:

You’ll also find some ideas on how to integrate the Portfolio into your lessons at the end of our Teaching tip.

The Words and phrases is another new and special feature which can be found at the end of each Now me page in the book. Here the learners have space to write down any words or phrases which are new or particularly important for them. This encourages learner autonomy.

The Now me page can be done by the learners at home, although you might like to integrate it into your lessons. If you have time to do so, you should deal with Now me after you’ve finished Step 3 of each Unit. The activities are short and this month we are giving you tips on how to integrate the Now me page from Network Now Starter Unit 2 into your lessons, without disturbing your lesson plan and timing too much. To try out our ideas just click on: