"A uniquely creative book that serves a highly practical purpose. Edwin and The Quest for Drow will entertain, educate, and energize young readers and adults alike!"
DR. SHIMI KANG, Harvard-trained Child Psychiatrist and Bestselling Author of The Dolphin Parent: A Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy, and Motivated Kids (Without Turning Into a Tiger) Learning English Through Assimilated Reading EDWIN AND THE QUEST FOR DROW Vancouver-based author and educational leader inspires Chinese students to learn English through fantasy VANCOUVER – As Chinese students eagerly search out ways to improve their English, too many of them are misdirected by programs that focus only on memorization. As renowned Harvard professor Eric Mazur points out, “Education is basically two things. One is transfer of information; the other is assimilating that information. Just one of the two is not good enough—you need both.” Queen’s- and McGill-trained educational leader Gordon Allan has seen first-hand how many Chinese students are not assimilating the information they are learning. In his new novel, Edwin and the Quest for Drow, Allan presents a fantasy story in the spirit of Harry Potter that gently assimilates parts of speech, grammar, and word play. As a former Headmaster of an international school and Former administrator at one of Canada’s leading day and boarding schools for boys — a school that is renowned for sending its students to Ivy League universities, Allan believes that language is something that is living and that ongoing reading and not memorization is critical to future success. “Many parents get misled into thinking that excessive memorizing of vocabulary and grammar rules is the magic formula needed to learn English. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth," says Allan, who has seen Chinese students who know more grammar rules than the average English native-speaker but who can’t even put together one clear sentence. By instilling in second-language learners a love for reading while gently assimilating elements of the writing process, Edwin and the Quest for Drow incorporates what students learn into an enjoyable fantasy. Presented in both English and Chinese, Allan’s novel immerses second-language learners in the English language while providing Chinese cross-reference pages to help the readers confirm what they have read and enhance their overall comprehension. GORDON C. ALLAN has been an educator for over 30 years. He graduated with two undergraduate degrees from Queen’s University in Canada and pursued Master's studies in Educational Administration at McGill University. He has worked as a teacher, administrator, and Headmaster at a variety of Canada’s most famous schools. Gordon lives with his wife in Vancouver. |
Vancouver Sun article (2016) — Click image
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