CLEAR, PRACTICAL, AND AFFORDABLE
What
Every ESL Student Should Know: A Guide to College and University Academic
Success
What should every ESL student know? Beats me. One size fits all philosophies often seem a bit strange to me. Can anybody really answer this question for every international student and ESL college student? Really? Don't circumstances, needs, and desires differ? On the other hand, administrators, teachers, future college students, and current international ESL students constantly face this common question. What should every ESL student know? Fortunately, braver and more confident souls feel comfortable answering this reasonable question.
EXPANDS WORKING VOCABULARY
Collins
COBUILD Intermediate Dictionary of American English (Paperback)
Collins Cobuild dictionaries, based on the why that native speakers actually speak English, consistently provide the most practical dictionaries. This Intermediate Dictionary of American English systematically deploys color - and some vivid pictures - to help ESL students navigate words and collocations. Based on the Bank of English, this innovative dictionary allows English language learners to actually use and understand the dictionary to expand their working vocabulary of natural English. It's a winner on multiple levels, especially for adult students planning to go to college. It's also lighter and more portable than Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary of American English that I often recommend to university and graduate students.
IMPROVE ACADEMIC WRITING
In
Focus: Strategies for Academic Writers
By Myra Ann Shulman
Do you want to improve your academic writing in English?
Featuring clear explanations, short readings, and concise writing activities,
In Focus seems almost pitch perfect for intermediate ESL students and
IEP programs. This fine University of Michigan textbook gently and
systematically introduces English language learners to effective techniques.
As a result, ESL students learn academic writing by actually writing
- and revising - short, focused pieces.
This relatively new textbook also prepares graduate and international
students for more challenging future academic work. I teach two courses
using Academic Writing for Graduate Students at USC, and students make
clear, significant progress by completing bite-sized writing exercises
and analyzing short journal readings. (The teacher's guide, called Commentary
for, is also outstanding). Yet sometimes ESL and EFL students sometimes
need to take a step back before taking two steps forward. In Focus provides
excellent material in those situations too.
If you are going to attend
an English language university and your TOEFL scores are under 90, consider
this fine textbook.