4 Point Speaking for Academic Purposes

Book excerpt: The 4 Point series is designed for English language learners whose primary goal is to succeed in an academic setting. Academic English learners need skills-based books that focus on reading, listening, and speaking, as well as the two primary language bases of vocabulary and grammar. The ultimate goal is to help your students improve these skills and earn a 4.0 (GPA). The Introduction to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) level is designed for students in academic programs who need a more general introduction to authentic academic content. The discrete skills volumes are designed for programs and courses that want to more intensively focus on key strategies and authentic academic content in one skill area. Each 4 Point volume covers academic skills while providing reinforcement and systematic recycling of key vocabulary issues and further exposure to grammar issues. These volumes focus very heavily on vocabulary because language learners know that they are way behind their native-speaker counterparts when it comes to vocabulary. Each book highlights key vocabulary items, including individual words, compound words, phrasal verbs, short phrases, idioms, metaphors, collocations and longer set lexical phrases. Speaking for Academic Purposes is an introductory textbook containing English for Academic Purposes content. Each unit includes activities to strengthen a range of speaking skills, notably: understanding classroom discourse, using academic language functions, recognizing signal words and phrases, and synthesizing information. These activities are presented within the context of one field of academic study (Architecture, Marketing, Earth Science, U.S. History, Chemistry, and Fine Arts) per unit. Unique to this speaking text are six videos showing common student interactions. Access to the videos is free. Each unit includes three academic speaking strategies (including one specific to making presentations) and tasks that involve participating in group discussions, interacting with native speakers, and making a presentation. The goal is to provide students with a variety of strategies/tools to master academic situations in which they need to participate.