In The Gentle ESL Way, Sarah Gay has integrated information from many areas – ESL, music therapy, chaos theory – to write a book that presents a new perspective on teaching English as a second language. Within the complexity of our world, this interdisciplinary approach is vital in addressing real world problems. This book constitutes a breakthrough in teaching ESL and is a “must read” for every teacher struggling to help their students learn English as a living linguistic art.
Barbara Crowe
Director of Music Therapy
Arizona State University
This book will be a valuable resource for anyone teaching not only ESL but a host of other disciplines, such as singing, acting, speech, speaking voice production, and other areas of music, such as ear training, harmony, and theory.
As a teacher of singing and other aspects of music – mostly to actors, but also to people who just want to learn more about singing and music – I can attest to the effectiveness of the author’s approach, because I use something very similar. Like her, I was fed up with the traditional methods, so I came up with techniques that are much more intuitive and based on listening. They bear an uncanny resemblance to her approach, probably because both of us experimented for a long while, read extensively about the “new science,” and empirically refined our techniques.
The Gentle ESL Way allows an interested person to skip a great deal of that exploratory work and immediately access a well-researched, engaging, and highly effective body of teaching techniques, scientific knowledge, and philosophy, presented in a clear, step-by-step format. I highly recommend The Gentle ESL Way.
Dr. Linda Vickerman
Department of Theatre and Dance
University of California at San Diego
Developed by Sarah Gay, a highly successful ESL teacher, The Gentle ESL Way presents a unique and refreshing approach to teaching second language learners. Using metaphors to explicate the science underlying her instructional approach, Gay provides many examples of instructional processes she has used and responses of the actual students she has taught, together with information about instructional materials and resources to assist teachers interested in implementing her approach. Readers are invited to explore this alternative approach just as students in Gay’s classes are invited to explore oral language use in a new cultural setting. Her integrative approach to learning engages students in rhythm, movement, poetry, and song, as they develop facility with oral English. This is a highly interesting, practical, and readable book for anyone interested in improving ESL instruction.
Greta Morine-Dershimer, Ed.D.
Retired Professor, Curry School of Education
University Of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA