Raise Up! Book 1 - Multilevel

This book has been written with a simple aim – what would a mainstream English language coursebook look like if it represented a wider range of people? We feel that at the time of writing in 2019, significant improvements need to be made in how various groups in society are included in the most popular international coursebooks. These subjects include:

• Women
• Black, indigenous and people of color
• LGBTQIA+
• Disabled people
• The working class
• Non-conventional body types
• Non-hegemonic countries and cultures
• Refugees
• People living and working in extreme conditions
• Non-urban environments
• Elderly people
• Aspects of faith
• Neurodiversity
• Immigrants
• Non-conventional families

The book contains 8 separate lessons, aimed at different levels, which follow the familiar format of modern international English language coursebooks. What makes Raise Up different are the subjects of those lessons. The themes covered are:

Family / LGBTQIA+

Leadership / Disabled people & poverty

Work rules / Low-paid workers

Rural life

Influences / women

Work / Transgender

Texting / Refugees

Different types of homes

The book has been written by James M. Taylor, a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and podcast producer based in Brasília, Brazil, and Ilá Coimbra, a teacher and teacher trainer based in Munich, Germany.

The book is non-profit and will raise money for the Casa 1 project in São Paulo. Casa 1 is a shelter for young members of the LGBTQI+ community that were kicked out of their homes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. There are many projects inside Casa 1, such as English to Trans-form, which offers free English lessons to Casa 1 dwellers, as well as to the black community and women in situations of social vulnerability. Among the courses offered to this community are dancing, sewing, hairdressing and makeup, self-defence, and music lessons.