Orient BlackSwan

About the BookAbout the AuthorTable of Contents

The book is intended to help develop the oral communication skills of second language learners, especially those who have had a regional language medium of instruction at school and who have had little or no exposure to spoken English. It is primarily aimed at students preparing to enter the main stream, which would require them to compete with those who have a stronger base in English. The book can also be used as self-instructional material by people who are employed or engaged in different activities of their own. The book comes with an audio CD that gives learners an opportunity to listen to dialogues in everyday situations and that provide answers to practice exercises as well. Also included are brief, easy to understand tips on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and usage. The book offers learners a second and more advanced set of 25 functions that require the use of relatively complex language structures than those in Part 1.

Dr Kamlesh Sadanand is former Professor and Head, Centre for Phonetics and Spoken English, CIEFL, Hyderabad. Besides her long years of experience in teaching and developing ELT materials and in supervising research work, she has published several papers and books, prominent among which is A Practical Course in English Pronunciation.

Ms Susheela Punitha is former Professor of English, Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. She has also been actively engaged in developing course materials and in conducting ELT workshops.

Module 1
1. Meeting People, Exchanging Greetings and Taking Leave
2. Introducing Yourself
3. Introducing People to Others
4. Giving personal Information
5. Talking about People, Animals and Places

Module 2
6. Answering the Telephone and Asking for Someone
7. Dealing with a Wrong Number
8. Taking and Leaving Messages
9. Making Inquiries on the Phone
10. Calling for Help in an Emergency

Module 3
11. Getting People’s Attention and Interrupting
12. Giving Instructions and Seeking Clarifications
13. Making Requests and Responding to Requests
14. Asking for Directions and Giving Directions
15. Thanking Someone and Responding to Thanks

Module 4
16. Inviting, and Accepting and Refusing an Invitation
17. Apologizing and Responding to an Apology
18. Congratulating and Responding to Congratulations
19. Paying Compliments, Showing Appreciation, Offering Encouragement and Responding to them
20. Asking for, Giving and Refusing Permission

Module 5
21. Talking about the Weather
22. Describing Daily Routine
23. Talking About Possessions
24. Talking About Current Activities
25. Asking for the time and date

Appendix A: Distinguishing between Spelling and Sound
Appendix B: The Consonants of English
Appendix C: The Vowels of English
Appendix D: The Relationship between Spelling and Sound
Answer Key