Word Smart: Building an Educated Vocabulary Review

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(More customer reviews)Word Smart gives one of the best selections of need-to-know words I have ever seen. It lists over 800 every-day-useful words, while avoiding the temptation of adding some long, snooty-sounding words for the sake of intellectual arrogance. These are words that most college students should know. If you can master these in high school, you will be on the way to a rock solid vocabulary.
The format of the book is straight forward. After a very helpful chapter on tips for learning new vocabulary, the set of words is introduced in alphabetical order. Every ten words or so ends in a quick quiz. This allows you to test what you have learned; you can also start with the quiz to see what words you can skip over. The concluding chapters contain a lengthy final exam, the SAT and GRE hit parade (words you should have mastered well before taking these standardized tests), word roots, common usage errors, abbreviations, and some lists for the arts, science, finance, and foreign words.
This is a great book for anyone who would like to beef up on their vocabulary, or for those who would just like a good review to make sure they are not using some words wrongly.

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The words people use say a lot about them. Some words say that they are smart, persuasive, and informed. Others say that they don't know what they're talking about. Knowing which words to use and how to use them are keys to getting the most from one's mind and to communicating effectively.To find out which words readers absolutely need to know, The Princeton Review researched the vocabularies of educated adults.The Princeton Review analyzed newspapers from The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal, magazines from Time to Scientific American, and books from current bestsellers to classics.Editors threw out words that most people know and focused on the words that people misunderstand or misuse.TPR also combed through the SAT and other standardized tests to determine which words are tested most frequently.In this updated third edition, editors give readers the most important words they need to know to score higher.Includes special lists covering:• Common usage errors• Most frequently tested words on standardized tests• Foreign phrases, abbreviations, and terms readers need to know to understand finance, science, computers, and the arts

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Top Notch 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)"What's your favorite ESL textbook?"
Yesterday, I asked this question at ESL teachers conference workshop on conversations. This series, by far, was the top choice among the more than 25 workshop participants. Consider me impressed. I have ordered a copy and look forward to reading it. Evidently, the focus on authentic speech and realistic model conversations works.


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Top Notch, a dynamic 6-level course for international communication, sets a new standard, using the natural language that people really speak. With a rock-solid learner-centered approach, Top Notch provides students an opportunity to confirm their own progress at the end of every easy-to-teach two-page lesson. Features of Top Notch 1 * Essential model conversations that make key social language unforgettable and easy to personalize * Intensive vocabulary development with active recycling * Complete grammar support--extended by a bound-in Vocabulary Booster"Top Notch Interactions"--unique step-by-step discussion builders that guarantee success for all learners * Thorough attention to pronunciation * A wide array of learning strategies and activities that promote critical thinking * Authentic and refreshing content that connects students to the real world

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A Conversation Book 1: English in Everyday Life, Revised Third Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I use this book in a beginning level English class for Hispanics. I work all day at a computer-related job and volunteer teach ESL two nights a week. I really do not have enough time to think of new conversation starters all the time. I find that this book used in conjunction with other material is ideal for low level adults. It provides a non threatening, informative introduction into American life. It is a fun way to learn the basics.

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Presents an inviting approach to developing conversationfluency.This book presents picture dictionary-type pages,along with conversation and grammar practice, that provide readers with thevocabulary and speaking skills they need for everyday life.Forbeginning ESL learners.

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Ultimate Phrasal Verb Book, The Review

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(More customer reviews)Get ready for a memorable showdown! Prepare to meet write off, check in, chat on, show up, kick back... and even more two-headed creatures that Anglophone people call Phrasal Verbs!
I had sought a textbook specialized in phrasal verbs for a very long time and this one is the first I found that deserves this appellation. You will find tons of phrasal verbs in there, almost 400, among the most popular.
The book is divided in 40 units or so containing a dozen verbs. Quick grammar rules relative to phrasal verbs introduce each unit. Here are treated, little by little, the following issues which are salient characteristics of the phrasal verbs, i.e. What is a particle? Is a particle always separable? How to make the difference between a particle and a "vulgar" preposition? Where is the accentuation of a phrasal verb? Is it possible to find a common abstract notion between some meanings of verbs that share the same particle (e.g. break in, call in, give in)? Yes, you'll have the answers to all these riveting questions!
In each unit, each verb is followed by its inflected forms (gerund, past and participle). Its different meanings are described and you'll see that sometimes the particle of a verb can go from a non-separable state to a separable state depending on the sense given to the verb! A couple of practical examples illustrates each meaning.
Now, exercises! You'll find a lot of them in the book. Five, six, sometimes more per unit, including a recapitulation exercise using verbs that you studied in previous units, so that you can train your memory and check your knowledge.
A unit will take you quite a certain time and sometimes you'll need up to 1 hour 1/2 if you do them seriously. Perhaps my mistake was to try hard to complete a whole unit in one time. Because of that, I admit I felt discouragement from time to time, especially because I had to interrupt my working session for domestic or professional reasons. If you don't get time, make two or three exercises a day and the day after, review the main points and carry on your training.
You'll quickly realize that mastering phrasal verbs is no child's play and requires steady and hard work. But it's a fascinating world and it's so funny to see the power a single particle can have over the meaning of a common verb and hence, over a sentence :)
This book is a premiere. If you already enjoyed it and are looking for a useful complement, buy the Cambridge international dictionary of phrasal verbs, it will give you a pretty thorough overview of the power of these verbs. But I would suggest it for people with at least an intermediate level.

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Written primarily for ESL and EFL students preparing to take language exams in English, this book presents 400 common phrasal verbs and the ways in which they are used in everyday American English. Phrasal verbs are word groups that include a verb combined with a preposition or an adverb. They are not used only as verbs but as nouns, such as comedown, breakup, or showoff. They might also be used as adjectives, such as spaced-out, burned-out, broken-down and many others. This volume places phrasal verbs within the context of sentences, and presents hundreds of examples and exercises.

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TOEFL iBT: The Official ETS Study Guide (McGraw-Hill's TOEFL iBT) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of the nice book for practicing,
but it doesn't really do much on the speaking
or the writing section. It just have the whole list
of writing questions and samples so I didn't know
how to prepare. For reading and listening section,
it has CD and gives you some practice tests, which I liked.
It has all the answers and explanations, but the explanation
part was kind of repeating the answer, so it didn't help me
that much.
I think this is just good book for
another book to prepare for Toefl, though.

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Get the only guide to the new TOEFL iBT

that comes straight from the test-makers!

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Everyday Idioms for Reference and Practice (Everyday Idioms for Reference & Practice) (bk. 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've found that quite a few books contain idioms that are only used in parts of the U.S., or are out-of-date or unusual. One of my international graduate students commented that she constantly saw the idioms she had learned in print- these are really the idioms that are popular and taken for granted. I only wish that there had been more information about how to use the idioms correctly in context; more definition of the socio-linguistic limits.

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Everyday Idioms One and Two bring the challenge of learning typical American English expressions within any student's reach. Each book presents over 1,200 idioms within tightly organized semantic categories. No other idiom texts give as comprehensive coverage of essential American idioms or make them as accessible to students.

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The CELTA Course Trainee Book Review

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(More customer reviews)I paid for this book because I read a previous review that said if I didn't take good notes, this would help me remember the content of the celta course. That is false. The book address TEFL generalisms but does not help with what is really important to pass the CELTA course. You have to learn the CELTA terminology and structure by heart if you want to pass. This book doesn't address CCQs, ICQs, ECDB, and all the other torturous acronyms involved in this course (aside from a glossary in the back). This book is irrelevant to passing and reviewing the CELTA course.

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The CELTA Course is the only CELTA preparation course endorsed by Cambridge ESOL. It provides full coverage of the CELTA syllabus in a ready-to-use course. The CELTA Course is divided into user-friendly sections: * Input sessions (40 units on 'The learners and their contexts', 'Classroom teaching', 'Language awareness', and 'Professional development')* Teaching practice* Classroom observation* Written assignments and tutorials* 'Resource file'The Trainee Book includes a range of material to be used in input sessions, helpful advice about the course, and a wealth of useful reference material. The Trainer's Manual includes suggestions on how to best use the material with trainees, as well as help and advice on how to prepare trainees for teaching practice, lesson observations, written assessment and tutorials.

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Building an ESL Collection for Young Adults: A Bibliography of Recommended Fiction and Nonfiction for Schools and Public Libraries (Contributions in Librarianship & Information Science) Review

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(More customer reviews)An excellent resource that filled a considerable gap when published in 1998, this library resource needs to be updated. The entire field has grown exponentially, new publishers and major texts have been published, and the internet and online education programs have completely revised the recommendations in the new media section.
Hopefully, this find resource for aduld education centers, libraries, and language schools will soon be updated and revised.

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Cambridge IELTS 5 Student's Book with Answers (IELTS Practice Tests) Review

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(More customer reviews)The service and postage of the book was really good, although for some reason i though it came complete with the tapes for the audio part of the training, as without it the audio training part is of no use.
I think that to be fare it should be specified on the ad that the book comes without the tapes.
Thanks

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This book provides students with an excellent opportunity to familiarize themselves with IELTS and to practise examination techniques using authentic test material prepared by Cambridge ESOL. An introduction to the different modules is included in each book, together with an explanation of the scoring system used by Cambridge ESOL. The comprehensive section of answers and tapescripts means that the material is ideal for students working partly or entirely on their own. A self-study pack (Student's Book with answers and Audio CD) is also available.

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New Interchange Student's book 3: English for International Communication Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're an English language teacher stuck in classrooms with 20 plus students for 30-40 hours a week and your text is a disaster your whole life can be hell. You hate your work and your students hate you. What do you do? Teach something else ? But in the end you always have to come back to the text...This has been the dilemma for teachers at my school over the last few years. While Interchange 1 was pretty good and Interchange 2 OK Interchange 3 was a nightmare-the more so as we realized the weakness was in the book and not in our teaching.So New Interchange 3 is something of a revelation- the changes in this book are not merely cosmetic,they are extensive. The layout and presentation of the grammar is sometimes so good I am in awe of how good this is and how bad the original book was. You realize there is real art to writing an English language teaching book- an art only really appreciated by the hands-on teacher. The other stunning improvement in this book is the content. It's so much more interesting, more contemporary, relevant and personal.So on 2 counts; grammar presentation and content this book is a winner. It's only on the third pillar of communicative language teaching- activities- that there is a weakness. The "Teacher's" book is lazy, unimaginative and unhelpful most of the time. A teacher needs to look elsewhere or in his or her own head for activities. Nonetheless, the improvements in NEW INTERCHANGE 3 are such that I can walk into a classroom with enthusiasm rather than dread.

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New Interchange is a multi-level series for adult and young-adult learners of English from the beginning to the high-intermediate level.The Level 3 Student's Book builds on the foundations established in Level 2 for accurate and fluent communication, extending grammatical, lexical, and functional skills. Beautiful color photographs and illustrations facilitate the teaching of new vocabulary. The New Interchange series teaches students to use English for everyday situations and purposes related to school, work, social life, and leisure. As with the other levels of New Interchange, a complete set of ancillaries, including a video program, is available to make classes interesting and productive.

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Jazz Chants®: Student Book Review

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(More customer reviews)One of the most significant challanges for an ESL instructor is to motivate adult learners to try to speak the language. Jazz Chants has proven to be an excellent tool for me to achieve this goal. The Chants are theme-based and provide sufficient repitition to allow learners to practice the sounds and reach a level of comfort and feel successful. The use of humor adds significantly to the reception the chants receive. The students visibly respond with joy as they recognize the intended joke. Humor breaks down barriers and enhances the learning experience. Choral speaking works particularly well with beginners since they are most reluctant to give voice to their new language. They have a degree of anonymity in this environment, encouraging even the most timid to try out the words. I might think carefully about its value with more advanced students but in my beginner's class I wouldn't be without it.

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The original collection of chants and poems.

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Grammarchants: Student Book (Jazz Chants) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have used Grammarchants with the cassette in my Beginning and Intermediate Adult ESL classes for years. Students have the opportunity to practice pronunciation, increase speaking rates and listening comprehension, and practice or review various verb tenses. Furthermore, students become more aware of syllable stress.
The teacher who introduced me to Grammarchants recommended a three step process. First, students listen to a passage. Literacy and new Beginning Level students could do this step without the cassette. Then the class should do a quiet choral reading of the passage. Repeated playings may be needed. Finally, when the students seem confident, they should be able to read chorally at the the same rate as the tape.
Students also find the dictation execises and interviews to be productive and enjoyable.

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Grammarchants is a lively review of basic grammatical structures. Each unit opens with a "grammarchant" which presents a basic aspect of grammar, followed by a series of related chants that reinforce the structure. An answer key is included. An audioCD andCassette features all of the chants.

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Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking (ESL & Applied Linguistics Professional Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is very cool for ESL/EFL teachers of all backgrounds because the language has been kept simple and is free from academic jargon. I read it from cover-to-cover and will use it to plan lessons in an English language school in Japan. I lent this book to a friend at a Japanese university and he found it very useful too. His colleagues gave him good feedback on it - a couple of them occasionally grab it to gain quick ideas for lessons that require little planning and few resources. This book is unlike many practical listening and speaking textbooks because it is based on sound ESL/EFL theory. It is also unlike many academic textbooks because it contains lots of practical suggestions. The balance between theory and practice is nice. I can`t wait to get the accompanying reading and writing book.

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Using a framework based on principles of teaching and learning, this guide for teachers and teacher trainees provides a wealth of suggestions for helping learners at all levels of proficiency develop their listening and speaking skills and fluency. By following these suggestions, which are organized around four strands - meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development - teachers will be able to design and present a balanced program for their students.Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking, and its companion text, Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing, are similar in format and the kinds of topics covered, but do not need to be used together. Drawing on research and theory in applied linguistics, their focus is strongly hands-on, featuring easily applied principles,a large number of useful teaching techniques, andguidelines for testing and monitoring.All Certificate, Diploma, Masters and Doctoral courses for teachers of English as a second or foreign language include a teaching methods component. The texts are designed for and have been field tested in such programs.

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The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course, Second Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently purchased this book and I can sincerely say that THE GRAMMAR BOOK is a well-written and well-structured book. Written primarily for ESL/EFL teachers as well as students, it contains every imaginable aspect of english grammar. Mastering english grammar has never been easier, even though I am not implying that it will not require a tremendous amount of effort on your side to master the advanced elements of grammar. None the less, as with everything else in life, being really good at something takes hard work and perseverance. THE GRAMMAR BOOK will dramatically improve your grammatical skills. Marianne Celce-Murcia uses simple terminology in her book in order to facilitate comprehension of difficult grammatical concepts. Even though the book is comprehensive, it nevertheless is lucid and accessible. Practising but especially prospective ESL/EFL teachers should find this book highly useful. Furthermore, advanced students of english as a foreign/second language should benefit from this book. Thus I strongly recommend THE GRAMMAR BOOK to prospective ESL/EFL teachers and advanced students of english language. In my view, this is not a book for beginners. Those who are rather unfamiliar with basic concepts of english grammar should purchase a book called FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR by Azar.

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In this highly acclaimed revision, grammatical descriptions and teaching suggestions are organized into sections dealing with Form, Meaning, and Use.The Grammar Book, 2/e helps teachers and future teachers grasp the linguistic system and details of English grammar, providing more information on how structures are used at the discourse level.

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Interchange Student's Book 1 with Audio CD Review

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(More customer reviews)If your teacher choose this work book for you, it is a good choice. It is not made for you to use alone. You need people to practice with if you want to learn from this book. The book will help your conversation skills if used with a group.

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Interchange Third edition is a four-level series for adult and young-adult learners of English from the beginning to the high-intermediate level.The Interchange Third Edition Level 1 Student's Book builds on the foundations established in the Intro for accurate and fluent communication, extending grammatical, lexical, and functional skills. Topics such as school, work, leisure activities, entertainment, and food are presented in unique ways using interesting real-life information. The Student's Book contains 16 teaching units, frequent progress checks that allow students to assess and monitor their own learning, and a listening self-study section. Included is a Student Audio CD that contains the conversation, pronunciation, and self-study sections from the Student's Book.

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Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language: A Teacher Self-development and Methodology Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a book on language teaching for language teachers. The book takes the view that language teachers must be responsible for making the ideas in the book real for their own particular contexts. The book starts with self-development as a theme and then moves on to teaching skills. Jerry Gebhard is careful to point out that he is not providing a bag of tricks as each application is backed-up with a sound theoretical perspective. The references in each section are excellent if the busy teacher has some time to read in more depth. Also, each chapter has activities that teachers can explore in order to apply the chapter information to their own particular context. What I especially like is that these activities encourage teachers to talk to other teachers and colleagues. This is where real self-development starts. This book, then, is a welcome user friendly addition to the field of English Language Teaching. If the user is a teacher, you have found the right book!

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In our times, international travel and extended living arrangements abroad have become almost a normal occurrence in the lives of many people, particularly the young and college educated. Many of these people, often with little training, find themselves with the opportunity to teach the English language to foreign students. After a short stint teaching EFL students in a foreign culture, once-confident English -language teachers often realize that some teacher training would have been useful.This readable and creative new book by Jerry Gebhard is a textbook for the untrained ESL/EFL teacher. It is designed for use by self-motivated teachers who seek to maximize their potential as teachers and, in so doing, enhance the learning of their students. This guide stresses the multifaceted nature of teaching the English language to nonnative speakers and is based on the real experiences of teachers. It provides basic information that ESL teachers should know before they start teaching, as well as ideas on how language instructors can guide students in the skills of listening, conversation, reading, and writing.Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language is unique in that it emphasizes self-development as central to being an ESL/EFL teacher. A variety of self-development tasks are included. Each chapter is guided by a set of questions directly relevant to teaching, including advice on teaching problems. An appendix provides addresses, phone numbers and information on professional second/foreign language-teaching organizations, as well as a list of professional journals and publishing houses.The author's practical and self-motivating philosophy is inviting to a wide audience: EFL teachers, teachers of teachers, and those who have found themselves in a position for which their training is incomplete. It is an excellent work for everyday use and will serve as a fine reference tool.

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How To Teach English (with DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is an excellent buy. It has hints and tips to help with facing the hurdles of being a trainee such as difficult lessons (and students) to actual class prep work. It is well set out and has a depth to it that makes even the most complex understandable. There are many 'sample' teaching methods to study as well as important self-test sections. A great pal to turn to in moments of despair!

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* New glossary to explain teaching terms * DVD with classroom demonstrations of core classroom techniques * New chapter on testing the only methodology book for "early stage" teachers that has a DVD with clips from actual classess and accompanying activities.

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