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Business Vocabulary in Use | |
Publisher: Cambridge
Author: Bill Mascull
€22.60
ISBN 978-3 12-533535- 6
This is a business book which does what its name says. It shows you business vocabulary as it is used in descriptions of the business world, and then asks questions to make sure that you were paying attention. We chose to review the intermadiate level book (there is also an advanced version), and found that the vocabulary was already fairly difficult, and also that this book tries to cover the whole business world, rather than concentrating on a particular section, such as marketing or accounting or office work. As there are only 172 pages in the book, including answer key and index, this is quite ambitious.
The book uses the approach of the 'English Grammar in Use' series. That is, there is a description on the left, and corresponding exercises on the right. Each set of reading and exercises takes up two pages allowing room in the book for 66 units which cover topics such as 'The career ladder' 'prices' and 'problems at work' (e.g. health and safety, harassment). The vocavulary is mainly about employment and types of business organizations such as finance and manufacturing, but also deals with the language of meetings, negotiations and presentations. The exercises are varied, either crosswords (this author seems quite fond of crosswords), completing tables, true or false, and gap-fills. At the bottom is a discussion bar entitled 'Over to you' which suggests themes for discussions related to the unit topic. For example: 'Where would you like to start a business? how would you get the capital?' Though the book claims to be 'full-colour' most of this colour is a serious navy-blue which is the main colour theme of the book, with the colours mainly in some drawings, and small but generally relevant photographs. At the back of the book is a useful index of vocabulary (linking to the unit rather than the page where the word appears), and this index contains the phonetic spelling of each word.
Who is this book for? Because there is an answer key at the back, this book seems mainly aimed at self-study, though the occasional touches (such as the discussion topics) suggest that this is also intended for class use. The book would be ideal for someone - perhaps a writer on financial affairs - who needs to improve his business vocabulary across a wide range of businesses. someone in a specialized field might find some of the vocabulary is less relevant, and the cost might discourage some learners.
Verdict: All-round business vocabulary at a price
Assessment 8/10