The Skills series

A new six-level skills-centered English course for young adults and adults based on the highly successful, award-winning Skills in English series. Preparation for English medium study in tertiary level education. Comprising -Starting Skills 1 & 2. -Building Skills 1 & 2. -Developing Skills 1 & 2.

The Skills series Content focuses on language competencies as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEF). The whole series takes students from beginner to independent user/proficiency. Content extends to the level required for study in English-medium at universities. CEF A1–High B2/Low C1. IELTS 2–6.5.

TitleLevelCEFIELTSListeningSpeakingReadingWriting Starting Skills 1 False beginner to elementary A1– A2 2.0–3.0Texts with a maximum of 400 words Speaking and writing tasks are short paragraphs Texts a maximum of 250 words Speaking and writing tasks are short paragraphs Starting Skills 2 False beginner to elementary A23.0 Building Skills 1 Pre- intermediate to intermediate A2–B13.0–4.5Texts increase over two levels to a maximum of 800 words Combined with writing assignments to encourage paragraph writing up to ten paragraphs in length Texts increase in length and difficulty to a maximum of 500 words, with separate section for longer reading passages Assignments combined with speaking tasks to encourage writing up to ten paragraphs in length Building Skills 2 Pre- intermediate to intermediate B14.0–5.0 Developing Skills 1 Intermediate to upper- intermediate B1–B25.0–6.0Texts increase over the two levels to a maximum of 1,000 words Combine with writing development, leading to short essay- type writing assignments Texts increase in length and difficulty to a maximum of 700 words, with separate section for longer reading passages Development combines with speaking tasks, leading to short essay-type writing assignments Developing Skills 2 Upper- intermediate to proficiency B2/lo w C1 6.0–6.5

The Skills series A comprehensive and flexible, multi-level, skills-based English course. Covers the four key skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), in addition to vocabulary and grammar. Provides detailed teaching plans for all lessons, plus methodology notes and language and culture notes.

The Skills series Focuses on the real grammar found in academic texts. Helps students to understand and produce complex sentences. Focuses on the grammar required in academic English. Teaches academic skills from the lowest level using accessible, relevant and motivating texts based on ten key knowledge themes.

The Skills series Each level includes: -a Course Book with audio CDs. -a Teacher’s Book. -a Workbook with audio CDs.

The Skills series Each level is organized into 12 units. Ten with a defined thematic focus and two Review units at the halfway and end point of the level. In Starting Skills and Building Skills there are 12 lessons per unit. In Developing Skills, each unit contains 10 more integrated lessons.

Theme-based units 1.Education 2.Daily Life 3.Work and Business 4.Science and Nature 5.The Physical World 6.Culture and Civilization 7.Technology 8.Art and Literature 9.Sports and Leisure 10.Nutrition and Health Themes help in building knowledge as well as language skills. Underlie all aspects of human knowledge as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Skills series Correlated to the Garnet i-Test, an electronically delivered placement test of English language competence and performance. The i-Test is an instant, accurate and secure test of English ability. The i-Test is easy, fast and reliable.

The Skills series Available online will be: Starting Skills, Building Skills and Developing Skills tests. additional information and exercises. An author blog and forum for interaction with the authors.

Starting Skills 1 CEF A1–A2 IELTS 2.0– –160 hours of material Teaches 200 new key words Improves competence in basic general and academic English skills

Starting Skills 2 CEF A2 IELTS –160 hours of material Teaches 200 new key words Improves competence in basic general and academic English skills

Course Book 12 Units per level Ten theme-based units & two revision units Each unit has 12 lessons Each lesson is one page and is focused on a discrete skill Vocabulary Listening Speaking Reading Writing Grammar Level 1 includes 3 audio CDs Level 2 includes 4 audio CDs

Course Book Discrete skill focus Skills checks simply explain and test skills related to the lesson. Content level- appropriate, reflecting the needs of students. 4-colour.

Course Book Variety of activities e.g., wordsearches Skills checks use examples to highlight and reinforce teaching points.

Workbook Follows structure of Course Book. 8 pages per unit. Additional activities for further practice. Provides opportunity for students to independently apply previously learned skills to new contexts. Contains audio CD

Starting Skills In Starting Skills students learn to: define and describe objects. identify key factual information. predict information when listening to a talk. speak about charts and graphs. discuss key facts in the past.

Starting Skills In Starting Skills students learn to: identify key parts of speech. read factual information and encyclopedia entries. write accurately using basic sentence patterns. use key spelling rules.

Building Skills 1 CEF A2–B1 IELTS 3.0– –200 hours of material Improves competence in English skills for college or university study Based on Skills in English series

Building Skills 2 CEF B1 IELTS 4.0– –200 hours of material Improves competence in English skills for college or university study Based on Skills in English series

Course Book 12 Units per level Ten theme-based units & two revision units Each unit has 12 lessons Each lesson is one page and is focused on a discrete skill Vocabulary Listening Speaking Reading Writing Grammar Contains 4 audio CDs

Course Book Book Map gives an overview of what is learned in each unit. Skills Map shows individual skills learned in each unit.

Course Book Colour-coded tables make grammar points easily understandable. Teaches the grammar necessary for academic study. Grammar is syntax- based as academic English is syntactic rather than tense- based.

Workbook Follows structure of Course Book. 8 pages per unit. Additional activities for further practice. Provides opportunity for students to independently apply previously learned skills to new contexts. Contains 2 additional audio CDs.

Building Skills Listening skills include: predicting what comes next. understanding spoken spellings and definitions. following instructions. identifying names. identifying important words. listening texts increase over two levels to a maximum of 800 words.

Building Skills Speaking skills include: asking about meaning and pronunciation. checking sounds in a dictionary. giving personal information. expressing likes and dislikes. requesting, accepting and rejecting help speaking tasks combined with writing. assignments to encourage paragraph writing up to ten paragraphs in length.

Building Skills Reading skills include: predicting content from illustrations. subheadings and topic sentences. word attack skills. locating information. transferring information. reading texts increase in length and difficulty to a maximum of 500 words, with separate section for longer reading passages.

Building Skills Writing skills include: ordering information. referring. describing habits and routines, location and places. writing assignments combined with Speaking tasks to encourage writing up to ten paragraphs in length.

Building Skills Key vocabulary introduced in context for success in skills development. Clear grammar input supports skill development. Comprehensive revision of grammar arising throughout the units.

Developing Skills 1 CEF B1–B2 IELTS 5.0– –200 hours of material Develops skills acquired in Starting Skills and Building Skills Prepares students for tertiary-level study in English

Developing Skills 2 CEF B2 IELTS 6.0– –200 hours of material Develops skills acquired in Starting Skills and Building Skills Prepares students for tertiary-level study in English Takes students to high B2 level competency in the CEF

Course Book 12 units per level Ten theme-based units Two review units Each unit has 10 lessons Lessons integrate skills to a greater extent than in Starting Skills and Building Skills Contains 4 Audio CDs

Workbook Follows structure of Course Book, reinforcing integrated structure of course. 8 pages per unit. Additional activities for further practice. Provides opportunity for students to independently apply previously learned skills to new contexts. Contains audio CDs

Developing Skills Course Features: more reading and writing tasks at a paragraph level. integrated unit structure focusing on two skills per unit to provide extended practice. topics structure organized to provide more in-depth skills development. systematic development of vocabulary.

Developing Skills Course Features: listening texts increase over two levels to a maximum of 1,000 words. reading texts increase in length and difficulty to a maximum of 700 words, with separate. section for longer reading passages. speaking tasks combined with writing development leading to short essay-type writing assignments.

The Skills series