Book Reviews
Lane, S. 2010. Instant Academic Skills. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge
November 11, 2011
Zemach, D.E. and Rumisek, L.A. 2005 [2003]. Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay. Macmillan: Oxford
The course book is aimed at international students who are studying at an intermediate level. Its purpose is to offer guidance on how to write essays at an appropriate level for an academic environment such as a college or university.
June 29, 2011
Lee, R. 2009. English for Environmental Sciences in Higher Education Studies. Garnet: Reading
This course book is about developing the English language skills of international undergraduate environmental science students. Although the book indicates that it is suitable for IELTS 5.0-7.5, only some parts of the book may be useful for post-graduates with higher language proficiency. The topics cover a wide range of subjects, such as ecosystems, biodiversity and agriculture, which provide a framework for the academic and language skills. The author, Lee, adopts a problem solving approach to engage the learners.
June 29, 2011
Corballis, T. and Jennings, W. 2009. English for Management Studies in Higher Education Studies. Garnet: Reading
This textbook serves a number of functions. It is primarily a text seeking to introduce students to a number of key concepts in the discipline of Management studies . Each unit focuses on a specific issue such as; what is leadership; production management; budgets, decisions and risks; marketing management. These topics are presented through simulated lectures (delivered in a variety of native speaker accents) and readings. As well as introducing discipline specific topics the book also focuses on a number of key EAP skills over the four skill areas,
June 29, 2011
Macmillan Collocations Dictionary 2010. Macmillan: Oxford
As the Introduction to this dictionary points out, collocation is as important as grammar in communicating clearly, naturally and fluently in English. Many of our upper intermediate and advanced students working on written assignments, dissertations and doctoral theses strive to eliminate grammatical errors from their work, but they often fail to pay as much attention to ensuring that the vocabulary they use - and which they have usually chosen very carefully - collocates with surrounding words to produce the precise meaning which they were hoping to achieve.
June 29, 2011
Gude, K. 2010. New Fast Class for First Certificate. Oxford University Press: Oxford
New FAST CLASS for First Certificate is a visually attractive exam preparation course. It contains 10 units, which have topics such as Relationships, Entertainment, or Technology. These themes appear as footnotes, whereas the headings of the chapters consist of a number and a skill (e.g. 01 Reading) . This organisational principle reflects the First Certificate exam: each unit is divided in 5 sub-sections which correspond to the exam format (i.e. the 4 skills and Use of English), and a 6th section with extension and revision exercises. The book contains exam-type tasks, tips, well-chosen reading texts, carefully built up controlled practice writing exercises, sample answers, and some examiner comments. Vocabulary and grammar are treated in detail. An exam overview section and a complete practice exam are also provided.
June 29, 2011
Dellar, H. and Walkley, A. 2010. Outcomes Upper Intermediate. Heinle ELT
When the first Innovations title appeared in 2000, it arguably represented the first serious stab at a lexically-driven syllabus since the COBUILD English Course.As such, I found it fresh and exciting, but also rather difficult to use.The book delighted in throwing around huge quantities of lexis, which sometimes threatened to engulf the learners as they ploughed through exercises which didn’t quite seem to gel into a coherent whole. This was compounded byan absence of clear signposting. Most coursebooks open each unit with a list of language and skills points which to be covered; Innovations opted for a seemingly random montage of fixed and semi-fixed expressions above an enigmatic title, such as “Is there one near here?”. As one colleague it, “It’s sometimes difficult to see where a unit is going.”
June 29, 2011
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