The Bottom Line
"Idioms are especially important," Oksana said, "because in your native language, it doesn’t make any sense to put the words together. You have to learn idioms and memorize them."
Oksana’s bottomline? “I am totally positive about this book,” she said. “I want to have it.”
Pros
- Focuses on idioms
- Short exercises you can do every day
- Fun variety of exercises to mix things up
- Common social situations
- Large size - easy to read
Cons
- Large size - Hard to carry around
- Situations are based on teens - an adult version would be grand
- Would be even better with spiral binding to lay flat
- A companion CD would be great
Description
- Wonderful workbook for learning idioms and social vocabulary.
- Each chapter begins with a conversation and definitions of the words and phrases used.
- Seven exercises follow, such as matching, fill in the blank, crosswords, and sentence scrambles.
- Each chapter ends with a chance to "give it a shot," to practice the idioms just learned.
- The back matter includes a list of websites relevant to the social situations taught, which is really unique.
- Also in the back matter is an answer key and a wonderful glossary of idioms.
Guide Review - A Year in the Life of an ESL Student by Edward J. Francis - A Review
Edward J. Francis is here to help. His book, A Year in the Life of an ESL Student: Idioms and Vocabulary You Can’t Live Without, is a fun and very relevant way to learn English idioms.
Each chapter is devoted to a different social situation and includes vocabulary, definitions, seven exercises, comprehension questions, discussion questions, and a chance to "give it a shot."
I asked my friend Oksana Pavilionis, a native Russian speaker and premier violinist, to flip through the book and give me her reaction.
"It’s great for people who are already speaking," Oksana said, "and want to go to a higher level."
Oksana has been speaking English for six years. She learned British English in school in Russia. “But in the U.S.,” she said, “they use shorter words and speak so fast. I am living here and learning every day, talking to people, watching TV, but this is what I need now.”
Pronunciation is also a big deal for Oksana. “Often the way it’s written is not the way a word is pronounced,” she said. “If this book had a CD with it, it would go for $20 more!”
Oksana pointed to a promotional blurb on the back cover. “Everyone must have it. It is true.”
I’ll be checking back with Oksana when she’s finished with the book, and will update you on which parts she found most helpful and how much she feels she has learned.
Until then, “hit the books” and I’ll “catch you later.”
