| Book of the Month | ||
| Practical Everyday English | | |
Publisher: Montserrat Publishing
Author: Steven Collins
211 pages
Price £9.95
ISBN 0--95283580
The front cover of this book says that it is "a new method of learning vocabulary for intermediate and advanced students". So, is it really a new method, and if it is, is it a good one? Read and find out.
The first thing that you notice about this book is that there does not seem to be any method - new or old. Vocabulary is not organised into sections, idioms arrive with phrasal verbs, colloquial English is mixed with formal usage. But in his introduction Mr Collins explains that this is part of his method. In real life, he explains, words do not arrive in neat categories, and part of the experience in learning English is dealing with its 'mind-boggling' complexity at the advanced level.
After a while you can see some organization. The book has nine chapters, and each of these is divided into three lessons. The words are presented along with their definitions and examples, and you then see how they are used in 'practical everyday English' by reading them in some example conversations. Then you have exercises to do to check how well you have learned the material.
There are no pictures in the book, and the printing is rather small, which is strange, because there is a lot of space in the book which is empty - for example there seems to be several centimeters more space than normal at the end of each page. Also, this book is bound as a normal paperback book, which means that you might find it difficult to keep open while you are doing the exercises.
Steven Collins, the author, is an experienced English teacher (he now has his own language school in London). This means that he has practical experience of what students need, and how to make his book useful to teachers. At the start of the book there is an 8-point lesson plan which describes how teachers can use this book in the classroom. For self-study students, he recommends going through the book one unit at a time, or keeping it as a sort of dictionary, and just looking words up in the index. We think that this is a good book for students to take with them on a journey, or for when they have a few spare minutes. They can open the book at any place, learn a few words, read a dialogue, or do an exercise. You could look into it during a coffee break at work, learn a new expression, and then go back to what you were doing.
Who is this book for? Advanced and Proficiency exam students will find it useful, and so will anybody who wants to include their range of English. But if you have a good dictionary and you can read articles in English newspapers and magazines, you can learn in almost the same way.
Verdict: A useful book for advanced students - but not essential.
Assessment 7/10