Another day, another book fair

Yep, more of the same as far as the book fair is concerned. An endless stream of books that promise instant success for your students in the now long list of EFL/ESL exams that have taken the place of education. I browsed through some of them only to be disheartened by the awful content. They amount to little more than rehashes of the exam they are supposedly preparing students for. In no case is there any principled development of basic skills. As tools for learning a foreign language they are on par with the Yellow Pages in terms of usefulness.

There are also seminars as well but they amount to little more than 45 minutes ads for the book or series being promoted. They all have catchy titles such as;

"How to successfully prepare your students for the Michigan Examinations."

or

"Targeting exams"

or

Are Michigan exams) really Easier than Cambridge ones ? (sic)

Forget teaching, get me a certificate. In short, the publishers are little better than snake oil salesmen, promising miracle cures for their gullible audience.

On the bright side I did get the chance to talk to Theodora, Roger and many others who are fighting the good fight against all odds.