Intermediate Learners Of English Research Articles

It's Time to Talk

It's Time to Talk is a book of 194 communication activities designed for intermediate and advanced learners of English as a second or foreign language. The activities are placed within six different settings: 1) Strategies in the Classroom; 2) People in the Community; 3) Services in the Community; 4) Places in the Community; 5) Media in the Community; 6) Family and Fun. Tasks include discussions, interviews, polls, treasure hunts, panels, debates, role play, problem solving, and story telling. Each section contains a meaning list, which glosses words as they are used in the activity. Special attention is paid to twoand three-word verbs. At the end of the book is a Glossary of Meanings, giving the number of each activity where a word or expression is introduced. The final entry is a Topic Index, listing the thematic material within each activity. The authors have put together a delightful and useful book. It is geared to students living in the United States, but sections can easily be adapted to overseas situations. The variety of cultural situations discussed is impressive. Topics range all the way from bumper stickers, garage sales, and recycling to T-shirts, women's liberation, The Yellow Pages, fire stations, and churches, to name but a few. To the authors' credit, sensitive issues are not ignored: there are discussions on rape, drugs, venereal disease, abortion, and x-rated movies. Students are treated as mature adults, although there is also room to adapt the activities for children.