大人向きの英語教科書 - お勧めをお願いします

[JimmySeal]

英語を教えてもらいたがっている友だちがいます。私はその人にいい教科書を勧めたいけど、そんなことに全然 経験がないから、困ります。日本ではほとんどの英語学習の本は一つ一つ文や文章を説明するものにすぎません が、私が探しているのはレッスンごとにいくつかの文法のポイントを説明する教科書です。あなた達に役に立っ た本を述べてもらえませんか。あらかじめ苦手な日本語の表現を謝ります。

A friend of mine would like me to teach English to her, and so I would like to recommend some kind of text book that she can work from. The majority of English learning books here seem to be little more than glorified phrase books, but I am looking for something that's divided up into lessons and explains grammar points one by one. Can anyone recommend something good?

[epigene]

I'm pretty sure many forum members are active English teachers who know better about the ELT business than I do but here's my two cents:

Based on my experience (lo-o-o-ong time ago), I liked the Longman textbooks. The lessons were well structured and intuitive, with visuals and listening comprehension aids.
I don't know what level (beginner, intermediate or advanced) your friend is, so I can't recommend any particular book, but here's a link:
http://www.longmanjapan.com/
I think it's best is you have access to a major bookstore selling "yousho" so you can comparison-shop, but if not, you can purchase from here:
http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/guest/cgi-bin/ebunruih_cgi

The drawback with Longman is that the books (teacher's & student's editions plus aids) may be quite expensive for just one student. So, I'm posting this just for your information! :bluush:

[JimmySeal]

Thanks Epigene. I'll look into those Longman books. I live about 2 hours from the nearest large bookstore and don't make it up there very often.
To clarify, I'm looking for something with a structure similar to the books available to English speakers, such as Living Language Ultimate Spanish/Japanese/etc., Genki Japanese, Japanese for Busy People, etc. Namely, a book broken into cumulative lessons with a reading sample, an explanation of grammar points (explained in Japanese), and some vocabulary. Some other people in my prefecture have said that despite their best searching, they haven't managed to turn up anything like that. :confused:

[GodEmperorLeto]

Namely, a book broken into cumulative lessons with a reading sample, an explanation of grammar points (explained in Japanese), and some vocabulary. Some other people in my prefecture have said that despite their best searching, they haven't managed to turn up anything like that.
I work for a TESL institute, and I can see if I can come up with some titles next week for you. They are all, unfortunately, in English, to begin with, designed for people who already have a rudimentary understanding of the language. For yourself, you should definitely try to pick up an advanced college grammar textbook (some of my fellow tutors use The Little Brown Handbook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321389514/sr=8-1/qid=1152246734/ref=sr_1_1/104-6915141-2659968?ie=UTF8), which will help you understand and teach the grammar English has. You'll be amazed by all of the complicated rules that you unconsciously know by heart, but have no idea how to explain. Grammar's going to be a huge challenge to teach (and for the student to learn). Japanese doesn't have plural nouns or verbs or direct/indirect articles (like "a" and "the").

Get yourself a good English dictionary, and a Japanese-English dictionary for vocabulary (things you probably already own), but make sure they use the English-only dictionary (if their comprehension of English is good enough) for definitions. As they improve, start getting them to read books and articles aloud with you. Also, watch movies with them in English, first with Japanese subtitles, and later, with English subtitles, and eventually, with none at all.

I hope this helps some. Of course, the best way to learn any language is to be immersed in it, but you've got to deal with what you've got. Good luck.

[JimmySeal]

I would prefer to not have to teach English, or more specifically, I would like to not have to introduce new concepts that aren't explained on paper in Japanese. That's why I'm looking for lesson books with grammar explanations in Japanese. I studied Japanese without a teacher for 3 years because I had a book with that kind of organization.
I already understand English grammar very well, but I don't have the necessary skills to teach it in Japanese. If someone asks me a specific question, I can usually clarify the concept for them without much trouble.

I am going to try to have my friend read books with my help. It may be a bit early to start that, but she presumably took English for 6 years in school, though it doesn't show. Maybe the information is hidden somewhere.
Anyway, I'm interested in seeing what books you can introduce to me nonetheless, so please pass that information along.