The book aims to build teachers' confidence in their ability to use English effectively, at the same time as providing advice and techniques for primary English teachers. The book is written in an accessible, easy-to-follow style and encourages a positive attitiude towards using English in the primary classroom. The first unit asks teachers to reflect on the processes of language learning, to examine ways to create effective learning conditions in class, and
introduces them to the study methods used in the book. The units follow the processes of natural language acquisition and the pattern of school education, so the order is: listening activities, speaking activities, reading, and writing. There are two units on using stories, with a final unit on integrating
coursebook activities and lesson planning. The content of the syllabus is derived largely from English lessons recorded by around 20 different teachers in different countries, to show that the examples and expressions used are real ones that are used by primary teachers the world over. The Language Study syllabus is graded, beginning in Unit 1 with very basic classroom instructions within a typical lesson framework, going on to more specific language relevant to particular activity types, and
later to longer stretches of English, such as storytelling. The book encourages teachers to practise the language activities with a colleague and/or record themselves on a personal cassette doing the language practice activities in English. A free CD gives examples of classroom language from real
classrooms, with pronunciation exercises.