A focus on form within a communicative framework. Communication Spotlight is designed to draw student attention to important aspects of English while practicing and using the language. It is designed to give students the means to control their communication.

As such, the book is loaded with pair work and group work to give the students maximum opportunity to practice their English.

Sample Pages:

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This cutting-edge multimedia series — now in its third edition and expanded to four levels — prepares students for the challenge of college lectures with a wide range of listening, speaking and note-taking strategies and skills. This content-based series ensures that students learn the vocabulary they are most likely to encounter in an academic setting.

For each level, twelve college lectures (on DVD) are drawn from a range of academic disciplines and reflect authentic lecture settings, featuring engaging instructors and live student audiences.

Watch samples of the DVD videos (from Contemporary Topics 2, Unit 8):

The Impact Listening series includes a topic-based syllabus coordinated across all levels using interesting and humorous visual elements. Impact Listening has follow-up sectional speaking activities, an interleaved Teacher’s Manual, and self-study appendix with free audio CD.

Let’s Talk, Second Edition is a versatile, three-level, short speaking and listening course that takes students from a high-beginning to high-intermediate level. Each level of Let's Talk, Second Edition, consists of a Student's Book with Self-study Audio CD, Class Audio CDs, and a Teacher's Manual.

• More systematic presentation and recycling of structures and vocabulary
• New Expansion review sections after every four units
• More listening activities, including new listening exercises in the Self-study section
• Expanded Self-study section with grammar paradigms and exercises
• Self-study Audio CD with recordings of grammar paradigms and listening texts
• Model conversations for additional language support
• Talking points photocopiable activities for additional speaking practice
• New Unit quizzes

Tactics for Listening is a comprehensive three-level listening series that features high-interest topics to engage and motivate students.

• Natural-sounding recordings reflect everyday situations
• Easy-to-use task-based activities
• Optional conversation activities in each unit.

The Teacher's Book with Audio CD includes guidelines for each activity; the midterm and final tests with CD; vocabulary lists, audioscripts and photocopiable worksheets; optional extension activities; and an answer key.

The Top-Up Listening series features English as it is actually spoken.

Top-Up gives students practice in drawing meaning from naturally spoken English in two ways: using their knowledge of the world and of the language to guess what's coming next, and using their knowldge of how English is actually structured as a sound.

Whaddaweemean? - how words run together, how sounds are lost, how vowels naturally weaken and entire words are dropped. Without knowledge of such patterns, listening is impossible. Lots of practice! Lots of variety!

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• Easy-to-follow unit structure includes a Preview page, six 2-page lessons, Listening Practice, Review, and Assessment wrap-up.
• Picture Dictionary openers introduce and contextualize the vocabulary of each lesson.
• Model Conversations and Partner Interviews offer students opportunities to talk about their own lives.
• Conversation Chants help students acquire the sounds, rhythms, and intonation of conversational English.
• The Scope and Sequence highlights correlations to CASAS and state curricula.

High beginning to Intermediate

The Active Listening series is a three-level listening course in North American English. It draws on recent research in comprehension, and offers students 20 engaging, task-based units, each built around a topic, function, or grammatical theme. In the first two levels (Introducing and Building), students learn to listen through a careful balance of activities, including listening for gist, listening for specific information, and making inferences. In the third level (Expanding), listening activities are content-based, drawing on real information from a variety of sources.

All Clear teaches students to recognize and produce the high-frequency idioms, phrases, and contemporary expressions needed in a range of conversational situations. A variety of listening, speaking, and pronunciation activities work with language in realistic contexts, integrating development of all language skills.

• Dialogues set up the lesson theme and serve as springboards for learning the idioms and other expressions.
• Listening skills are developed through pre-, while-, and post-listening activities related to each unit’s introductory dialogue.
• "Your Turn" speaking activities encourage learners to use the newly acquired idioms and expressions interactively.
• Numerous listening and speaking activities help build fluency through the integration of reading, writing, and grammar skills.
• Special attention is given to the grammar related to expressions in order to help develop fluency and accuracy.
• For each lesson, there is a pronunciation section at the back of the book that uses the language and theme of that lesson to practice specific pronunciation points.

Developing Listening Skills uses topically based listening passages to introduce high-frequency vocabulary and phrases. Suitable for classroom or self-study.

• Authentic dialogs
• Full-color illustrations to aid comprehension
• Supplemental reading passages related to the topic
• Listening quizzes for self-progress checksReal world listening practice, featuring 24 topics related to everyday life and activitiesDiscussion questions to develop students’ speaking and listening ability

• Fifty-Fifty Intro is suitable for students at the elementary level who may have some passive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary from previous study, but lack the skills and confidence to participate in conversation.
• Fifty-Fifty Book One is a follow-up course to
  Fifty-Fifty Intro and is suitable for students at the
  high-elementary/low-intermediate level.
• Fifty-Fifty Book Two is suitable for students at the intermediate level.

• Themes intended to provoke a wide range of reactions from students and lead to a genuine exchange of information.
• Video clips on the Impact Issues website provide additional opinions of fluent speakers on each topic

• Listen for different purposes
• Observe people engaged in real everyday activities
• Build confidence in listening to spoken English
• Packed with engaging topics, striking personalities, dynamic listening sources and practical TOEIC and TOEFL-style test practice

Low-intermediate to High-intermediate/Low Advanced

Lecture Ready prepares students for academic lectures by practising targeted lecture language. Students then 'attend' actual lectures via DVD or VHS tape.

How can it be used?

• Core text in a pre-academic listening comprehension/speaking class.
• Supplementary text in an academic preparatory course.

Key features

• Listening Strategies help students recognize language signals and tune in to academic lectures.
• Note-taking Strategies help students manage information intake.
• Discussion Strategies help students participate fully in classroom discussion.
• Themed units align with academic content areas.

High-interest tasks support the development of receptive and productive skills while including critical listening and learning strategies.

• Real-life listening practice uses listening passages based on authentic sources.
• Started Unit provides an overview of each book’s listening skills and strategies.
• In Focus section offers opportunity for cultural comparison and personalization in each unit.
• Language boxes highlight key expressions related to each unit’s topics and goals.
• Student Audio CD is included in every Student Book for risk-free practice outside the classroom.

Using real-life themes, high-interest narratives, and natural speech, Listen to Me! teaches the listening and speaking skills relevant to students' lives.

• Listening comprehension and listening discrimination activities foster better listening strategies.
• Integrated pronunciation and grammar exercises impove students' speaking skills.
• Group speaking activities personalize the language and allow students to use the skills they have learned.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

• Updated topics on money, jobs, communication, and families make learning more relevant and interesting.
• Examples of natural speech in the listening exercises expose students to real spoken English.
• "Listening and Pronunciation Note" boxes highlight the listening skills being taught and help students maximize their learning.

This new four-level, strategies-based course is designed to improve listening skills through the use of activities and topics that are meaningful to students' lives.

The third edition of this groundbreaking listening and notetaking series includes videotaped lectures in DVD or VHS format. Now teachers can use the audio program (available on both tapes and CD) with the support of video simulation of an academic lecture experience. Many new and updated lectures with high-interest topics are included.

Open Forum is a three-level listening and speaking skills series for English language learners who need practice in extended listening and discussion in preparation for academic work, or to attain a personal goal.

The series is structured around high-interest listening texts with an academic focus that engage and motivate students. Units feature academic content areas such as Business, History, or Psychology. The content areas are revisited as the series progresses, ensuring that students recycle and extend the ideas and vocabulary of each topic. Focused practice in listening and speaking skills is integrated into each unit.

The third edition of this highly regarded series focuses on building confidence in using language needed in everyday settings.

• Focuses on listening and speaking skills for students who have studied grammar but lack confidence in speaking.
• Pronunciation Focus in each unit provides practical pointers for students.
• This new edition features all new photographs and illustrations.
• Revised units now have more speaking activities.
• New vocabulary support helps students to complete the tasks.
• NEW Student Audio CD in the Student Book provides students with listening practice outside the classroom.
• Class Audio CDs with extra listening practice and recordings use a variety of accents for real-life listening practice.

Present Yourself takes a process approach to giving presentations and combines careful language control with communicative activities that are familiar to students. The series offers students an opportunity to develop the life skill of talking about topics to an audience outside the language classroom.

Meets the majority of state oral skills standards

The Real Talk series helps students break away from structured classroom English and enter the world of authentic English.  Each of the book’s thematic chapters has four parts In Person, On the Phone, On the Air, and In Class. The listening segments expose students to spontaneous face-to-face conversations, phone conversations and pre-recorded messages, radio broadcasts, and academic lectures.

• Experience authentic language features such as hesitation, interruption, and interjection.
• Vocabulary exercises prepare students to discuss specific topics.
• Listening strategies give students tools for personal and academic success.
• Note-taking and outlining practice prepare students for university and college-level listening.
• Speaking activities such as role plays, presentations, and debates reinforce the use of authentic English.

All these features address the new emphasis on listening and speaking skills in current standardized tests.

Sounds Good Beginner to Intermediate

Sounds Good is a low-level listening course ranging from beginner to intermediate. Each level progresses gently and consists of twelve, six-page units. There are opportunities for test practice in every unit as well as a review test for every three units plus semester and final tests on the Teacher Resource CD-ROM. Activities and listening skills are clearly signposted and designed with lots of white space. This series will appeal to teachers who prefer structured activities with the on-the-page student support.

Speaking of Values stimulates lively conversations about cultural and personal beliefs. Step by step, students build confidence in their ability to express themselves in English while developing vocabulary and critical thinking skills.

Systematically incorporating language-focused exercises, the texts help students develop fluency by focusing on phrases in context, then practicing them in meaningful and enjoyable ways.

Each chapter includes:

• photos, illustrations, and guided questions to help students access prior knowledge and personal experience
• problem-solving activities to encourage critical thinking skills
• topic-related vocabulary presentation with practice activities
• authentic readings, including newspaper articles, to extend topic knowledge and enrich vocabulary
• conversation tips that expose students to high-frequency phrases and language functions
• role plays, proverbs for discussion, and a variety of other activities to stimulate classroom discussion
• listening tasks with warm-up, comprehension, and opinion questions

Springboard is a flexible, topic-based conversation and listening course for adults and young adults. The topic-based syllabus encourages students to talk about their own lives, aspirations and interests.

Features:

• Language models and key expressions give students clear guidance in developing the ability to initiate a conversation and keep it going, and respond to ideas, comments, and questions.
• Listening skills (including listening for gist, attitude, inference, information and main ideas) are systematically developed.
• Short, interactive tasks and personal surveys guide students towards conversational fluency.
• Project files, containing a project for each unit, help bridge the gap between language study and language use, and provide opportunities for student creativity and personal expression.
• A Springboard Glossary facilitates vocabulary development by providing definitions of key vocabulary with the text, together with pronunciation information and example sentences.

Learner-centered activities, Academic and Language Learning Strategies, CNN videos, and a Web site effectively provide students with the tools they need to be successful, independent learners.

• The Sound of It refines listening, speaking, and pronunciation skills, and helps students gain confidence communicating in English.
• Engaging listening selections provide authentic news broadcasts, interviews, conversations, debates, and stories.
• CNN video clips provide authentic input and further develop listening and speaking skills.
• Tapestry Threads provides students with interesting facts and quotes that jumpstart classroom discussions.
• Academic Power Strategies give students the knowledge and skills to become successful, independent learners.
• Apply the Strategy activities encourage students to take charge of their learning and immediately use their new skills and strategies.
• Language Learning Strategies help students maximize their learning and become proficient in English.
• A variety of speaking activities, such as role plays, skits, debates, and presentations, provide opportunities for students to use vocabulary, language functions, and knowledge of the content area.
• Test-Taking Tips offer students practical steps for improving their test results.
• Check Your Progress helps students monitor their own progress.

The Tune In series develops listening skills and introduces over 50 features of natural spoken English.

Each lesson uses a step-by-step approach so students understand what people say and how they say it. Students learn to check understanding, express uncertainty, give polite negative answers, and more!

• Easy-to-check material.
• Accessible and entertaining listen-and-learn audio.
• A variety of listening genres - from casual conversations to TV interviews.

Tuning In offers intermediate students a unique opportunity to explore different listening genres from a variety of real-world sources. Authentic listening selections — including commercials, folk songs, oral histories, and call-in radio shows – provide a rich context for developing language skills.

• Engaging listening segments allow students to explore timeless themes such as love, volunteering, and childhood memories.
• Pre-listening activities help focus students on the theme and vocabulary, while post-listening exercises provide practice with language functions, pronunciation, grammar, and critical thinking.
• Listening for Inference activities encourage students to infer the speaker's meaning, listen for attitudes and feelings through the tone of voice, and interpret context. 
• Unit wrap-up activities allow students to compare and contrast the three listening selections, analyze the linguistic components of each genre, and create a text of their own.

What I Believe, based on National Public Radio's This I Believe series, features the unique voices of individuals from all walks of life who share the personal philosophies and core values that guide their daily lives.  In addition to providing authentic listening practice, these books challenge students to explore, discuss, and write about the essays in the text.  They also engage and guide students in formulating, sharing, and discussing their own core values and beliefs.Getting Ready — introduces student to the speaker and activates their knowledge of the speaker’s topic Vocabulary for Comprehension and Glossary — support students’ listening comprehensionCritical Thinking — provides students opportunities to discuss central and related topics in a deep, meaningful wayBackground Notes and Culture Notes — give students helpful background on essay contentFocused Speaking Task — includes instruction and practice with pronunciation and useful language as well as step-by-step speaking preparationWriting Topics — allows students to put their ideas into written form

• Authentic Classroom Interactions and Lectures - Students learn to listen to lectures and document information, then use their notes for other academic tasks such as tests or small group discussions.
• Effective Academic Speaking Tasks - Speaking tasks resemble the types of academic tasks expected of students in the college environment. These speaking tasks include participating in class, engaging in formal and informal small group discussions on lecture content, and presenting oral summaries.
• Essential Academic Vocabulary - The Academic Word List is integrated throughout the Oral Communication strand. Students develop techniques for learning and using new academic vocabulary in order to recognize the words when they hear them and to use them in their spoken English.
• Instructor Web Sites - Instructor Web Sites feature teaching notes, answer keys, sample syllabi, downloadable quizzes, handouts, transparencies, and audio scripts.
• Student Web Sites - Student Web Sites provide flashcards, structured listening activities, and ACE practice tests to help students prepare for exams.

• Pronunciation syllabus based on General American pronunciation
• Audio CDs with a variety of realistic American accents
• American English vocabulary, grammar and usage
• Reading passages with typical American scenarios
• Contexts relevant to American English learners

Communication Strategies covers the vocabulary, patterns, and collocations that English language learners need to communicate actively.

• Communication strategies, vocabulary, and useful expressions are taught and practiced in pair and small-group activities.
• Collocations and language patterns are integrated together, with an alphabetical listing at the back of the book for reference.
• All new language is recycled thoroughly.
• Extra practice material is provided to the teacher in the "Further Activities" section in each unit.
• A page for "Consolidation and Recycling" at the end of each unit ensures sufficient review of language points.

GETTING TOGETHER provides enjoyable, task-based conversation activities for pairs and small groups.

• Activities include paired interviews, group devision tasks, conversational mixers, role-plays, problem solving, word puzzles, "tell me" activities, brainteasers, personality quizzes, and games.
• The activities require little or no preparation by the instructor.

Intermediate to Low-Advanced

Have Your Say! provides an intensive focus on communication practice for intermediate students.

• All activities thoroughly class tested
• Wide variety of activities including interviews, questionnaires, matching appropriate expressions in a conversation, making excuses, giving instructions,etc.
• Section on idioms allows students to understand the meaning of idioms and use them in the context of a conversation
• Self-evaluation sections at the end of each unit allow students to take responsibility for what they have learned and focus on areas where they still need practice

Advanced Level.

Since 1988, the best-selling Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn has helped students prepare for the rigors of academic class work. Now, a new Second Edition continues to offer readers valuable tips for getting the most from lectures. This text shows how a typical lecture is organized, using actual excerpts and transcript from 19 authentic lectures covering a wide range of topics.
Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn utilizes a three-pronged approach to vocabulary instruction—defining, using, and retaining. It also incorporates a variety of quiz and test questions to familiarize students with the challenges of true/false, multiple choice, and short answer items.

A new edition of the best-selling Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn continues to prepare advanced students for the rigors of academic classwork and to offer valuable tips for getting the most from lectures. This text shows how a typical lecture is organized, using actual excerpts and transcripts from 19 authentic lectures covering a wide range of topics.

• Use language cues and conventions that indicate organization and emphasis.
• Deal with numbers and statistics.
• Predict upcoming information.
• Organize their notes for maximum effectiveness.
• Supplementary readings drawn from today's newspapers and magazines for pre- and post-lecture discussions.
• Follow-up writing or speaking and listening activities designed to develop critical thinking skills

• An introduction and vocabulary preview to get the students ready for the main listening task
• A simple chart to fill out for directed listening
• Varied comprehension tasks which include answering questions, cloze exercises, true and false exercises, ordering sentences, unscrambling sentences
• Follow-up activities include doing research to expand on a given subject or about a related topic, doing interviews, and writing assignments

• Dictated sentences for vocabulary preview in each unit
• A total of 18 talks for listening comprehension
• Three Canadian speakers for variety

Using real-life themes, high-interest narratives, and natural speech, Now Hear This! teaches the listening and speaking skills relevant to students' lives.

• Listening comprehension and listening discrimination activities foster better listening strategies.
• Integrated pronunciation and grammar exercises improve students' speaking skills.
• Group speaking activities personalize the language and allow students to use the skills they have learned.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

• New and updated topics on money, jobs, communication, and families make learning more interesting and relevant.
• "Person on the Street" sections present short responses from college students and adults exposing students to real spoken English.
• Note-taking activities introduce students to a variety of note-taking formats, including writing numbers, completing check lists, and recording reasons or details.

Intermediate to High intermediate

Speaking Naturally helps students learn to make appropriate linguistic choices in a variety of real-life situations. Each unit focuses on a language function, such as requesting information, thanking, complimenting, and inviting, while readings explain the cultural rules students need to know to communicate naturally and effectively.

You Said It! by Mary Shepard Wong provides the kind of learner-centered tasks that students need to develop their listening and speaking skills. The text uses an ongoing story line to weave together listening and speaking activities. Students develop ten learner-centered communicative projects.

• Introduces vocabulary in new and various contexts through "Help with Vocabulary" boxes
• Highlights the most common expressions needed in listening and speaking tasks with "Useful Expressions" boxes
• Integrates the four skills, engages students in purposeful communication, and teaches culture

This is a book of dictations, but with Interactive Dictations, students do much more than take down what they hear. They interact in guided discussions, reacting, debating, deciding, solving, comparing, critiquing, or just talking together. This is the approach of the authors' earlier book as well, but in this book the dictations are somewhat easier and shorter, and the students finish with a writing task.

A CD is available for listening or for providing two more "dictators" in the classroom, and the full dictations are available in the back half of the book. Start your students with Interactive Dictations and then increase the challenge with Dictations for Discussion.

In this book, there are over 50 dictation activities in four different formats:
· Partial Dictation. Listen and fill in the blanks
· Paired Dictation. The students dictate passages to each other
· Dictogloss. Listen and recreate the passage
· Prediction.

In this book, there are over 50 dictation activities in four different formats:
· Partial Dictation. Listen and fill in the blanks
· Paired Dictation. The students dictate passages to each other
· Dictogloss. Listen and recreate the passage
· Prediction.

To make the dictations fresh and challenging topics for discussion, the authors have selected them from a variety of authentic sources - the web, magazines, and newspapers. Some are controversial, hot topics. Some are widely appealing human-interest stories with important cultural issues embedded in them. Some are delightfully funny. Each has been used and tested by the authors and fellow teachers. Your students will find themselves naturally drawn into a serious but lively discussion of each article.

There are six different topical areas to choose from:
· Cultural Trends
· Money and Work
· Holidays / Special Events
· Ethics
· Health
· Language Facts and Fun