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This course is designed for young adults who are intending to pursue higher education in English either in an Englishspeaking country or in an English medium in a country where English is a second or foreign language. The course comprises a coursebook, extra activity book and a teacher’s book.

There are 15 units in the coursebook, covering the themes campus, time, home, class, around the world, world cities, computers, work, free time, my way, international English, summer vacation, how to study, famous names and what’s next. Each unit begins with an introduction in which the topic and new vocabulary are introduced by discussion, listening and reading. Good use is made of pictures which provide a context and develop the students’ picture-interpretation skills. This is followed by language in focus. The first two units focus on oral communication skills that students will need as soon as they enter an English environment. The units then progress to include revision of verb tenses and the use of words and phrases that cause problems, such as how much and how many. There is then a section on listening and speaking and one on reading and writing. Each unit ends with a study skills tip and review of vocabulary and grammar.

The illustrations and names used in the book are multicultural and multinational. For example, in the ‘class’ unit, students are presented with pictures of a rural African maths class taking place under a tree, a modern university auditorium and an individual Asian student with her laptop. They are asked to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each situation.The material is also gender sensitive. Male and female students are shown involved in a range of activities. For students making a transition into an English country to study, this provides a useful cultural orientation. The unit entitled ‘My way’ deals with cultural issues more explicitly and affirms both the value of culture and the joy of diversity in culture.

Material in each unit is well integrated, and students use and re-use vocabulary and skills as they read, write, listen and talk. A feature that I found particularly useful was the deliberate use of maps, graphs, pie charts and tables. Students are asked to fill in tables and create tables as well as transfer information from one medium such as a table to another, eg a graph. Various types of illustration are also used. These include photographs, abstract drawings, symbols, details of pictures, cartoon illustrations with ‘bubble talk’ and spidergrams. An ability to interpret this kind of information is something that I have often taken for granted in my students, only to be faced with blank or confused expressions in the middle of a lesson. This is a much needed literacy skill that can’t be taken for granted in students who have been in very large classes in education systems with few resources.

Whilst the book teaches English in a lively, relevant way, every effort has been made to affirm the knowledge that students have and expand their general knowledge in a way that will help them understand the world in which they are studying. The material provides a very useful pre-college base for higher studies. However, students completing this course will still need to do a lot of hard work, especially in the area of reading, before they will be able to cope in tertiary studies.

The activity book is divided into the same units as the coursebook and has about six pages of extra exercises in all four language skills. Pictures and diagrams in the coursebook are further exploited, vocabulary is practised in a variety of contexts and more practice is given in ‘reading’ charts, diagrams, pictures and maps. Some interesting additional articles add interest and extend the students’ general knowledge. One version of the book includes the answers and can, therefore, serve as a self-study or revision tool for students to use individually or in tutorial groups. It would make a valuable addition to libraries where the course is being used.

The teacher’s book is packed full of ideas for teaching the coursebook and is useful both for beginner and advanced teachers teaching either in their first or second language. Answers to exercises are given. The book has three photocopiable short-word-answer tests with answers. The tapescript for the listening exercises in the coursebook is invaluable for preparation and revision of listening exercises.