Product Description

This book and CD set is designed to help Russians achieve greater fluency in American English. The set contains over 300 of today’s most commonly used idioms and phrases. Idioms are presented in 25 lively dialogues which tell the entertaining story of an American family. The set is appropriate for intermediate to advanced students of English of all ages. The book comes with an audio CD of all of the dialogues. Contains dozens of helpful exercises to reinforce the material, with convenient answer key for self-study.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #208472 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-24
• Original language: Russian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Review
"I must admit that even after 15 years living in America, I found this book useful and relevant..." -- Vadim Yarmolinets, Novoye Russkoye Slovo Newspaper, March 18, 2003

This book will serve as a great support for those who want to master contemporary conversational English. -- Dr. Vladimir Mylnikov, ESL instructor, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA

About the Author
Amy Gillett has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Prague, Czech Republic, and in Stamford, Connecticut. Her articles and humorous essays have appeared in many American publications, including MAD Magazine, Family Circle, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Ms. Gillett holds a Bachelor’s degree in Slavic Languages and Literature and a Master’s in Russian and East European Studies, both from Stanford University.

Customer Reviews

Quite useful, but still needs some editing
****

This is a fine book for classroom use with intermediate-to-advanced level Russian speakers who are acquiring English. A good selection of idiomatic American expressions is presented and illustrated through an engaging 25-chapter story involving a single family (the Johnsons); the specific situations used-- from the family's daily life, work, school and recreation-- are generally clearly delineated and are often instructive for the students in both linguistic and cultural contexts. The various exercises which accompany the texts are varied and competently assembled, and their completion probably gives the students an important sense an accomplishment (however ephemeral) that rote memorization does not by itself provide.

Some editing still needs to be done: there are too many instances of everyday expressions (which most students already understand) being offered up as "idioms"; conversely, there are also several occasions in which odd/unusual constructions go unglossed. While these are not great impediments, the CD which accompanies the book has several more serious problems: the voice of one principal character (Bob, the father) is poorly enunciated throughout [and also happens to bear an unnerving resemblance to that of Vladimir Pozner...]; and several other characters simply miss the appropriate stresses in a number of words and phrases-- as though they were reading the texts aloud for the first time. The instructor is left to explain that, well, what he/she would *actually* say in this situation sounds more like this: "..." One gets the impression that the roles were voiced by a convenient selection of local volunteers-- whereas hiring real actors for the roles could have made a significant difference.

That said, I recommend this book-- and look forward to a second volume (as well as to the remedial tinkering with the first). My students enjoyed it for the most part, and no doubt learned a great deal from the adventures of the Johnson family.

Laugh and also learn English
Easy to understand and written with a great sense of humor, this book is an essential aid to improving English understanding and speech. Learn how to correctly use language of daily life (at an interview, on the job or at the store). The additional CD teaches proper pronunciation. A great help for new immigrants and also for those who want to increase their knowledge of English idioms.

Enrich your knowledge of English !!!!!
I found this book very useful and helpful; great CD too. One can learn new phrases and listen to the correct prononciation at the same time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her English skills.