Academic Encounters is an academic preparation series that uses authentic materials and a sustained-content approach to teach students the skills they need to take academic courses in English.

There are two books in the series for each content focus: an Academic Encounters title that teaches reading, study skills, and writing; and an Academic Listening Encounters title that concentrates on developing students' listening, note-taking, and discussion skills. The two books may be used independently, or they may be used together to form a complete integrated-skills academic English course.

Over the past few years there has been a growing recognition of the need to teach discipline-specific academic skills, critical thinking skills and language. This award-winning series is designed to address this need.

Each of the books in the series follows the same format, with 12 units per book providing between four and six hours of classroom activity, with the added flexibility of a further two to four hours of using the suggested extra activities in the Teacher's Book. Each book also includes two audio CDs and a full transcript.

With the dual focus of better equipping students to interact with academic texts and helping them fully acquire vital academic vocabulary, Inside Reading gives students the tools they need to succeed in their academic careers.

• High-interest texts from academic content areas, such as psychology, engineering, the arts, computer science, and biology.
• Reading skills relevant to the academic classroom, such as inference, working with graphs and tables, annotation, and recognizing context clues.
• Systematic acquisition of the entire Academic Word List through targeted receptive and productive activities.
• Student Pack includes CD-ROM with additional vocabulary practice.
• Instructor Pack includes answer key, notes, and Diploma 6.5 Test Generator CD-ROM.

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

• 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.

Guidelines, strategies, and practice in writing for academic success.features

• Reason to Write takes students through the writing process from generating ideas, drafting and revising, to proof-reading and editing.
• The first two books in the series concentrate on paragraph writing; the last two books focus on essay writing.
• Each theme-based unit contains a short, thought-provoking reading passage to spark students' interest and provide meaningful issues to write about.
• Accompanying activities establish a framework for lively, in-depth discussion and the development of analytical thinking skills, which are so crucial to effective writing in higher education.
• All instruction in each unit, including grammar, vocabulary, and rhetorical style, is thoroughly integrated with the theme and the writing objectives, so that students proceed along a seamless path from reading to thinking to writing, from the preparatory stages of writing to the completion of a final written piece.

Effective Academic Writing presents the writing modes and rhetorical devices students need to succeed in an academic setting.

• Each unit features succinct, user friendly, self-contained lessons.
• Models of student essays enhance learners' comprehension of writing modes.
• An extensive, yet structured writing task is included in every unit.
• Specific rhetorical focus and language focus points are presented and practised in each unit.
• At level 1, students review the structure of English sentences and learn about the mechanics of writing academic paragraphs. At level 2, they focus on the short essay, and at level 3, they are introduced to longer academic essays.

Brings reading to life with engaging texts, key strategies, and effective teacher support.

• Authentic texts from a variety of genres, as well as graphical representations such as charts, graphs, or timelines.
• Key reading skills, providing the foundation for effective, critical reading, as well as portable vocabulary strategies.
• Writing and online extension activities, allowing students to synthesize and make the content their own.
• PowerPoint® Teaching Tool to make material come to life in the classroom.
• ExamView Pro® Test Generator for customizable tests and quizzes.

The Vocabulary strand is designed to support the Oral Communication, Reading, and Writing strands by helping students develop the ability to understand and use the vocabulary in those strands which come from the Academic Word List (AWL). These books can be used as stand alone texts in a vocabulary class or as supplements in reading, writing, or oral communication classes.

Essential Academic Vocabulary prepares students for academic success by helping them preview, learn, and practice vocabulary from the Academic Word List in context. Engaging academic readings highlight chapter vocabulary in context. From chapter to chapter, the readings and vocabulary increase in complexity level, allowing students to establish and build upon a solid vocabulary foundation.

Exploring Content engages English language learners in authentic academic content so they will succeed in college classes. Readings from college textbooks and supporting exercices teach students essential reading and study skills as well as academic and content vocabulary.