Description & Features

The Oral Communication strand is dedicated to meeting the academic needs of students by teaching them how to comprehend the spoken English used by instructors and students in college classrooms. These texts provide engaging activities for students to practice academic listening and academic speaking.

• 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.