English for Socializing

Sylee Gore and David Gordon Smith

Oxford Business English Express Series, Oxford University Press 2007

ISBN: 978-0-19-457940-7

No holds barred: this is a great book and one I really enjoyed reading. It sets out to help your students build good relationships by equipping them with the essential expressions and conversation techniques they need to converse appropriately and confidently. It can be used as a stand-alone specialised course, for self-study, or to supplement your regular coursebook.

The contents are clearly set out in six easy-to-follow units of about ten pages each. Each unit, for example Unit 1 on making contact, is neatly subdivided into a range of subtopics each with its own varied exercises and activities, in this case from making arrangements by email to talking about plans. There are any number of opportunities for controlled practice: for example the ‘partner files' at the back provide role-play activities, and the ‘over to you' options provide opportunities for discussion. Recycling activities range from crosswords to encouraging learners to personalise the exercises.

Easy on the ear is the authenticity of the language: "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name" sounds so much more natural than "Please could you repeat your name" because the former is exactly what we'd say. Equally easy on the ear is "This is on me" rather than the somewhat awkward German "I invite you". There are boxes with chunks of useful language and grammar too but in prepackaged language chunks such as "I'll pick you up at about seven" which is so much more natural to learn as a set phrase to use over and over without always having to ‘reinvent from scratch'.

My personal favourites in the book are the language tips and strategies accompanying each section - these are sort of instant guides to essential cultural awareness issues, e.g. different cultural attitudes to punctuality, and interesting, thought-provoking even, articles on the topics at hand.

At the end of the book there is a crossword puzzle for students to revise the book's contents; the answer key; that great mine of authentic language-based content, the dialogue transcripts; a line-up of very useful phrases and vocabulary neatly categorised from meeting and greeting to carrying on a conversation; and vocabulary banks from weather-words to describing hunger ("peckish, anyone?").

English for Socialising comes with a Multi- ROM complete with further interactive exercises for extra practise. Although I found the non-native speaker accents rather unconvincing, the listening exercises are nevertheless clear and easy to follow. The tasks can then be adapted to the individual student/class level of English, and you can, of course, encourage your students to download the CD to listen to as often as possible. What is missing is any mention of level: can I, for example, use it for my beginners as well as for more advanced students? With guidance, yes. At first glance the layout looks rather pre-intermediate, but with a creative teacher the book is a very useful resource for more sophisticated non-native speakers of English who, comfortable when discussing their work, are inclined to be tongue-tied in more informal situations.

Alison Wiebalck