Showing posts with label esl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label esl. Show all posts

Sunday, July 8, 2012

The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage Review

The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage
Average Reviews:

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Broadly speaking, this is an excellent handbook, a superb handbook. The concepts are explained clearly and the examples are very instructive. What is in the handbook is treated very lucidly and thoroughly and with considerable depth. I personally was impressed at the depth and detail in which some of the grammar is covered.
The only real problems with the handbook don't concern what is in the book--it's what isn't. There are nuances in subject-verb agreement which aren't included, areas such as impersonal expressions are absent, and there is no mention of the subjunctive. If one is preparing for the TOEFL, this is a good book to get but I would not make it the only text you study, since it is not exhaustive by any means.
Still, there is a good amount of very useful information excellently explained here. I would offer a warm qualified recommendation to ESL students, one a bit nuanced. For the ESL student with absolutely no interest in the subject, who feels that study of English in general is one big long painful injection in the gluteus maximus, a tortuous experience only to be endured and not enjoyed in any way, this book is going to come off nebulous and long-winded. Granted, the book does not give one simply the bare bones of a concept and leave enough alone; for the student who wants merely to ratchet together enough knowledge to pass a few tests and move on, this book might be a bit too dedicated to its subject material. For the student with some real interest in learning English and learning it well, however, this book definitely rewards a patient and attentive reader because ideas are not merely presented but amply explained, and in handsome detail. If one is preparing for the TOEFL, be sure to buy the TOEFL preparation book by Barron's, which will explain a host of tricks presented on the test but which are notably absent in this book. This book is excellent for the concepts it covers, but it doesn't cover enough for the testtaker, so be sure to purchase other sources for your test preparation.

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Those pesky dangling modifiers, split infinitives, and comma splices­­they infect our spoken and written language with such frequency that even native English speakers find it difficult to determine what's right and what's wrong!

The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage shows you how to fix these everyday English language mistakes. With commonsense, easy-to-remember usage tips throughout, this handbook features incorrect and correct grammatical examples, a short review of basic grammar, a glossary, and more.


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College Writing Skills Review

College Writing Skills
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Look up the criteria for academic essay grading at any university in the world, and you see the same qualities demanded: good research, demonstration of a good understanding of the material, neutral academic tone, and cogent argumentation. John Langan's "College Writing Skills" shows almost no guidance in how to get these qualities down, and there is not a single good example of sound academic writing in the book. Instead we get puff- pieces and moronic, juvenile trash like the following:
"When Mom and Dad and your sisters and brothers begin to annoy you, harmless revenge may be just the way to make them quiete [sic] down for a while... Just before the meal, throw a handful of raisins into the food... clamp your hand over your mouth and begin to make odd noises. When they ask you what the matter is, point to a raisin and yell, Bugs [sic]. Dumping the food in the [waste] disposal, the car will head quickly for mcdonalds[sic]." (p.145 6th Edition). Another sample student essay recommends that one flirt with the professor for an A (p.150, "How to Con an Instructor") and yet another describes the author's assault on a senior citizen; the tone suggests self- serving banalities rather than actual remorse ("maybe the old man's pain, in some terrible way, had a purpose").
Besides the reading samples, the sheer size of the book is outrageous at 500 pages. As a style guide, the text itself is bloated and entire pages are entirely redundant to the point the author is making. I fail to see why a book on how to write clearly should be any longer than Strunk and White. Mcgraw- Hill: shame on you. Find an author who has actually written something other than a writing guide to write your next writing guide. Teaching writing is a drag enough without having to find some justification to not simply throw such dross in the dustbin.

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College Writing Skills offers students a practical guide to becoming better writers.From mastering the traditional five-paragraph essay and its variations to learning about the finer points of grammar and punctuation, College Writing Skills empowers students to take control of their writing and put it to work for them.Now, with the new online writing program Connect Writing and the soon-to-come Connect Langan, an online interactive version of College Writing Skills, this new eighth edition brings writing closer to students and helps to take them where they need to go. Whether online or in class, College Writing Skills offers students the tools to succeed.

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Friday, June 15, 2012

Six-Way Paragraphs in the Content Areas: Advanced Level Review

Six-Way Paragraphs in the Content Areas: Advanced Level
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I use this book for my English as a Second Language curriculum resource.
My objective is to build vocabulary, improve comprehension, critique pronuncation, and build confidence with Spanish speakers in the El Paso area. This series of books by Pauk is outstanding in this regard. None better. This series is the core of my curriculum and has been for the past five years since its discovery by me. Thank you.

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Six-Way Paragraphs in the Content Areas teaches the essential skills and techniques needed to organize, understand, and apply information in four general categories: the humanities, social studies, science, and mathematics.

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Practice Makes Perfect: English Grammar for ESL Learners (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

Practice Makes Perfect: English Grammar for ESL Learners (Practice Makes Perfect Series)
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If you have/are a student who needs focused practice with the basics of English grammar, this book is a good choice. It doesn't really focus on usage, context, etc. That's fine, though--its purpose is practice and review. It's particularly useful for beginner/false beginner students who never learned or have forgotten basic grammar terms (transitive verb, etc.). Of course,these terms and rules should NOT be the focus of any modern ESL/EFL course. (Why? Because that's not how people actually learn to use language.) Nonetheless, the rules and terms are useful for discussing grammar problems, explaining the differences between a student's home languages and English, etc. Get this book as a supplement for a comprehensive, communicative textbook such as _Interchange_ or _Out and About_.
In terms of design and planning, it has lots of white space and a good balance of questions and explanations. Most other grammar-focused books use explanations that are too wordy and hard to understand, and present text-filled pages that are overwhelming to beginners.
As an example, I have a client who is an adult from Japan. He studied English for a year or two in junior high and at a conversation school. Because he had a fair amount of vocabulary and could handle basic conversations ("How are you?" etc.), we started off using an Interchange book. However, I eventually realized that he didn't know terms such as "adjective," which sometimes made it hard for me to explain why a sentence he had written needed to be changed. I picked up this book, and he's really appreciated adding some focused grammar work to our otherwise functional/conversational sessions. We've been following up the grammar work with Mad Libs so that things don't get too boring. He loves the book and uses its nice amount of questions in each section as self-guided homework.
As a bonus, this book is quite inexpensive and thus good for private teaching situations or for self-study.

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Continuing the success of the bestselling Practice Makes Perfect series, Practice Makes Perfect English Grammar for ESL Learners features well-organized presentations, skill-building exercises, and a focus on practical conversational skills. Here you will find clear explanations accompanied by highlighted examples and boxed summaries of key points. You also get numerous exercises in a variety of formats, including fill-inthe-blank sentences and passages, translations, multiple-choice questions, sentence rewriting, and creative writing exercises. Answers to all questions are provided in the back of the book.


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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Practice Makes Perfect: English Vocabulary For Beginning ESL Learners (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

Practice Makes Perfect: English Vocabulary For Beginning ESL Learners (Practice Makes Perfect Series)
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If you are an English Second Language student from a Latin country, you need this. No matter your learning rate, this will greatly improve your vocabulary. It won't help your accent, but there are great choices on CDs for that purpose. This is a way to build your word store fairly painlessly.
Highly reccomended

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Hundreds of English words to get you speaking in your new language with confidence--now!

Practice Makes Perfect: English Vocabulary for Beginning ESL Learners introduces you to hundreds of essential words and helps you quickly build the skills and confidence needed to use them correctly in conversation. Many useful exercises provide you with word-building practice. You also learn how to rapidly analyze new words you may encounter and incorporate them into your ever-growing vocabulary.


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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

English Verb Drills Review

English Verb Drills
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My ESL students use this book as it gives them great practice in using verbs.
It is well set out and easy for them to follow. I time them doing the exercises
which makes it fun for them to do and they are very competitive with others in the class.
I use the book in conjunction with the other books in the series.
Cathy B

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Your shortest route to mastering verbconjugations

One of the greatest challenges in learning a languageis mastering verb conjugations. English Verb Drills makesit easier than ever for you to meet that challenge.It allows you to focus exclusively on building your masteryof verbs without being distracted by otherelements of grammar. Combining the features of aworkbook and reference manual, this book clearly andsystematically explains how the verb system workswhile providing more than 150 drills for practice.Using this unique title, you will build theconfidence you need to use verbs correctly andto be comfortable expressing yourself in speechand writing.


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Sunday, November 27, 2011

English Grammar Drills Review

English Grammar Drills
Average Reviews:

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My ESL students use this book as it gives them great practice in using English Grammar.
It is well set out and easy for them to follow. I time them doing the exercises
which makes it fun for them to do. I use the book in conjunction with the others
in the series.
Cathy B

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When it comes to learning English grammar, the best way is to JUST DO IT!

For learning grammar, you'll find the most successin retaining your skills through drills, drills, andmore drills. English Grammar Drills reinforcesyour knowledge and enhances your ability to read,write, and speak in English. Each chapter deals with onlyone subject, so you are not overwhelmed withinformation and drills and can proceed at a comfortablepace. With close to 200 exercises you will get plenty of opportunities to practice what you have learned.


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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Correct Your English Errors: How to Avoid 99% of the Common Mistakes Made by Learners of English Review

Correct Your English Errors: How to Avoid 99% of the Common Mistakes Made by Learners of English
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This is a fantastic resource for English learners. The author has admirably condensed decades of his experience with teaching English (and teaching teachers of English) into an easy-to-use guide that explains the commonest errors, why they're wrong, and how to correct them. What really shines through on every page is Dr. Collins' empathy for and patience with speakers of other languages: his explanations are straightforward and uncluttered: he just wants the reader to understand what the problem is and how to correct it. I recommend this book to any learner of English who wants to "go native," speaking and writing as if English were your first language.

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Speak and write English as if it were your native tongue!

Are you tired of making the same mistakes in English again and again? End the bad habits that can leave the people you talk to confused. Correct Your English Errors warns you of hundreds of typical errors learners make and explains the reasons behind the mistakes, so you can correct yourself in the future.

Improve your English skills with this fun and comprehensive guide and avoid all the common mistakes, such as:

Mispronouncing and misspelling words
Applying your native language's grammar patterns to English
Putting verbs in the wrong tense
Using incorrect prepositions in expressions
Confusing subject-verb agreement

Correct Your English Errors offers exercises covering all parts of grammar and provides review passages to check that you are error-free. Soon, biting your nails will be your only bad habit!


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Friday, November 4, 2011

Practice Makes Perfect: English Pronouns and Prepositions (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

Practice Makes Perfect: English Pronouns and Prepositions (Practice Makes Perfect Series)
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It is a great help. I use it all the time! English being my second language, I tend to have lots of doubts when trying to use prepositions. I always turn my sentences around, so that I don't have to deal with them too much. This helps me immensely!

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A quick, painless way for ESL learners to master English pronouns and prepositions

This new addition to the Practice Makes Perfect series makes it easier than ever for ESL learners to get the hang of English pronouns and prepositions. In clear, straightforward language, and with the help of numerous everyday examples, language teacher Ed Swick demystifies English pronouns and prepositions, and he provides dozens of skill-building exercises. The numerous exercises include a variety of formats, such as fill-in-the-blank sentences, sentence rewriting, writing original sentences, and more.

An indispensable resource for advanced-beginner and intermediate-level ESL learners, this workbook:

Details all aspects of English pronoun and preposition usage
Clarifies the subtleties of usage that often escape ESL learners
Employs practical, high-frequency vocabulary throughout


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Friday, September 30, 2011

Writing Better English : An ESL Workbook Review

Writing Better English : An ESL Workbook
Average Reviews:

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This is a great book to help you teach or review proper English writing skills.

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Taking a developmental approach to improving writing skills, Writing Better English helps you increase your level of proficiency in both grammar and vocabulary. The author draws on his extensive teaching experience to provide:
..
Tools nonnative English speakers need to become better writers .
A series of exercises and practical-writing activities .
Tests for comprehension of basic grammatical structures, such as verb tenses and pronouns .
A practical section on writing personal and business letters .
.

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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Practice Makes Perfect: Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners (Practice Makes Perfect Series) Review

Practice Makes Perfect: Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners (Practice Makes Perfect Series)
Average Reviews:

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The lessons are focused, and easy to understand. The parts of speech are explained thoroughly, with good examples. This is a great book for anyone who needs to understand the basics of English grammar, including native speakers. The Practice Makes Perfect series is the main set of books I use as a teacher/tutor.

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Master English grammar through hands-on exercises and practice, practice, practice!

Practice Makes Perfect: Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners helps you take your English grammar skills to a higher level and gives you the confidence to speak and write in your new language. This reference/workbook leads you through English grammar using concise, easy-to-understand language, keeping you focused on achieving your goal of total fluency.

Practice Makes Perfect: Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners is packed with:

Example sentences that illustrate and clarify each grammatical point
Dozens of exercises in formats suited to your learning style
A detailed answer key for quick, easy progress checks

Master these tricky subjects:verbs • modal auxiliaries • passive voice • participial adjectives • perfect tenses •the passive form with get * subject-verb agreement * and much more


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