(Practice Book - Grammar and Vocabulary)
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First Certificate Star (Practice Book - Grammar and Vocabulary) | |
Publisher: MacMillan Heinemann
Authors: Luke Prodromou
€ 14.20 (approx retail price)
ISBN 978 - 0- 435-28152 -6
If you have done the FCE Grammar and Vocabulary exam practice sections on this site, you know approximately what you will find in this book. As the name says, it's a practice book, and while there is only one set of FCE grammar practice exercises on our website, your 15 euros will get you this complete bookful. These days it seems that every EFL book comes with a teacher's book, a student's book and a practice book. In our experience, the practice books are generally the best value. They have more exercises, and fewer colourful pictures. Colour photos look very nice, but don't teach you English and make the book more expensive.
This book has 138 pages. Apart from an answer key at the back (other versions are available without the key) the content is 22 sets of exercises. These are roughly themed, but it's hard to tell what each theme is by looking at the chapter title. Chapter 1 for example, has the title 'Yabba-dabba-doo!' and turns out to be about the cinema. All the appropriate parts of the FCE exam are covered by straightforward grammar and vocabulary exercises which ask you to do the same sort of tasks that you would do in the exam. In addition there are vocabulary-building exercises at the end of each chapter, with a special emphasis on phrasal verbs. There are no decorative pictures or large empty margins. This is clearly a workbook, not a magazine.
Who is this book for? If you have the FCE exam coming up, and you are worried about your grammar and vocabulary, this will certainly allow you to test your ability. Teachers might also find the version without an answer key useful for class tests and for familiarizing students with what to expect for the exam.
Verdict: Total FCE grammar exam practice.
Assessment 9/10