Customer Reviews

The Idiom Advantage: Fluency in Speaking and Listening

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have lived in many Latin American countries, and now can speak Spanish on a level that I can reasonably be understood and understand. But I am still trying to learn the Spanish idioms that each country has----and I have wondered, after reading Ms. Watkins' book---why someone has not written a similar book for those with Spanish as their second language. Her book is so to the core of American culture, that it makes it so much easier for someone learning English to pick up phrases, sayings, different meanings to words that couldn't be translated literally, and thus land on their feet running without having people listen to stilted, foreign-like phrases. This book should be used in every Institute or class that teaches English as a second language. I have taught elementary and junior high classes, and if I were to go back to teaching, and could teach English as a second language, this would be one of the first books I would use.

I have been both teaching and studying English and have seen many books on idioms over the years. The most striking difference of this book is that it presents idioms in a very interesting context (fun talks, real ads, etc.). I also liked the choice of idioms, I feel this book would be appropriate for advanced students as well as for intermediate students.
The book has all the scripts and answers at the end so it can be well used for self-study.

Ms. Watkins' combination of engaging activities and intriguing visuals makes this text a real treat to use in the classroom. Students are too busy having fun to realize that they're learning idioms along the way.

What I especially like is the way The Idiom Advantage uses clever print advertisments to help expand the students' understanding of the idioms. The ads even provide a platform to discuss some broader, cultural issues which can be especially important for ESL students.

This is definitely one of the best idioms texts I've seen.

As others have said, this book is great for teaching American idioms. It has a fresh, engaging approach that my students always enjoy. I have never seen any idiom book that didn't have an occasional idiom I felt was dated. This book has few such idioms. The mix of activities is good to keep the pace up and students connected to the lesson. I too wish, however, that the CD were included.

The book has a lot of written pages; I thought that the product would be better, so I felt disappointed.

The Idiom Advantage promises fluency in Speaking and Listening. But the book comes without the CD, something that I consider false advertising.

some of the idioms are good -- but there are always two or three in each unit that i have to tell my students, "this one isn't really used anymore."