The Slangman Guide to Street Speak 1: The Complete Course in American Slang & Idioms [Paperback]

David Burke (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1891888080 | ISBN-13: 978-1891888083 | Publication Date: May 1, 2000

Have fun and learn "real" American conversational English!

Our books contain the most common slang and idioms used every day by Americans. Look at this example:

English taught in schools: "I dislike this. It is very difficult."

Real American English: "What a pain!"

Both of them mean the same thing, but "Real English" is the way Americans speak. With our books, you will learn American English conversation using slang and idioms naturally through dialogues, pictures, quizzes, games, etc. You'll be talking like a native "in no time" (very quickly)!

This book is full of slang and idioms used every day by Americans - and it is very easy to use. You will be more confidant and have fun using English.

This book includes expressions dealing with: Parties, Shopping, Movies, the Airport, Restaurants, Health, and more.

See why so many ESL students around the world love The Slangman Guide to Street Speak series!

This book was written by American native and slang expert Slangman David Burke, author of more than 24 books on slang and idioms.

There are no "dirty" or impolite expressions in this book. For the best results, purchase the audio CDs or cassettes.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The world is getting smaller every day: people are traveling more, making friends in other countries, and working with people who speak different languages in the workplace.

We want to remove the frustration from communication and make it fun. We have a lot to learn from each other, but we can't even start unless we can communicate effectively.

Our products allow people to learn the real language, the language not often taught in schools. Our books and audio products make it fun and easy to learn. We want to give you the confidence to speak English anywhere!

About the Author

Author Slangman David Burke wrote his first slang and idioms book at the age of 15 after an embarrassing summer home-stay in France. He had studied French for years and was fluent in French (or so he thought!), but he could not understand the family he was living with.

David discovered that slang and idioms are so common in everyday conversations that most people do not even realize they are using them... so, he started taking notes.

When he returned to his home in Los Angeles at the end of the summer, David decided to organize all his notes on French slang and idioms into his first book, "Street French."

Since then, author Slangman David Burke has dedicated his life to writing books on language conversation - the real language. Now with over 24 books on slang and idioms in 5 different languages, Slangman David Burke is an international slang expert, with no plans to stop writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 147 pages
• Publisher: Slangman Pub (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891888080
• ISBN-13: 978-1891888083
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Slang & Idioms

More About the Author

David Burke is the author of over 100 products and books on how to use and understand slang and idioms in different languages. His books are currently used as course curriculum by Berlitz Language Schools, UCLA, Harvard University, New York University (NYU) and Hewlett Packard.

David was brought up in a multi-lingual household and knows English, French, Italian, and American Sign Language. He is also a musician, having worked as a television composer and as the in-house composer for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.

In 1999, David became known as "Slangman" to 90 million listeners in 120 countries due to his regular 5-year segment on Voice of Americas Coast to Coast. Throughout the past 10 years, he has been the owner and CEO of Slangman Publishing, Inc., a publishing company specializing in materials on slang and idioms.

David is also the creator of Slangman's World, a children's TV show, currently in preproduction, which introduces children age 2-6 to the world of foreign languages and cultures, as well as popular American expressions in an environment of music, animation, and magic.

To date, David has appeared in more than 250 national and international radio and television programs helping parents to understand their teens, including; The Jenny Jones Show, The Sharon Osbourne Show, Entertainment Tonight, CNN International, and has been a recurring guest on the KTLA Morning Show and Canada's most popular talk show, the Vicki Gabereau Show. David was also a commentator at the 2004 Academy Awards for the BBCs Five Live (a program broadcasting to 7 million people throughout the United Kingdom) to speak about slang used in American movies and TV shows.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book for learning current American slang!, April 26, 2000

By 

Rusty Keele (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Slangman Guide to Street Speak 1: The Complete Course in American Slang & Idioms (Paperback)

I purchased this book so that I could help one of my high-intermediate students understand American slang. I have been nothing but pleased with this book and have used it with several of my students. THE GOOD: Each chapter has about 10 new slang words (or phrases) to really concentrate on. The pictures are hilarious and help the students to relax and have fun as they get started on each chapter. After introducing the words, the book then incorporates them into a delightful dialogue. Each chapter also has a section entitled "A closer look at 'real speak'." This is my favorite feature and helps students to understand how American slang is really produced. For example, it explains when a "T" is really pronounced like a "D" (or flapped). The rest of the chapter then has TONS of practice for the students in all four skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. THE BAD: There really isn't too much to say here. If anything I would say that the book doesn't cover a lot of slang words. There are only 10 chapters, so students really only learn somewhere around 100 new words and phrases, but they really learn those 100! The only other bad thing that I have noticed is that my more advanced students seem to pick up the slang more quickly and then find the remaining practice to be redundant. But hey, it could be worse! OVERALL: A wonderful book of current and useful American slang that I would recommend to anyone - teacher, tutor or student! I would suggest that you buy the cassette tapes if you are going to use this book as a self-study guide.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is WAY COOL!, August 15, 2004

By 

D. B. ENRIQUEZ - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Slangman Guide to Street Speak 1: The Complete Course in American Slang & Idioms (Paperback)

I recommend this book "BIG TIME"!! It's the most useful book I have found on American slang and idioms. I have spent a lot of money of other books to learn how Americans REALLY speak (what they teach us in school is not the real language). They are more like dictionaries, and use old terms that Americans don't use any more. David Burke, who calls himself "Slangman," has created a series of books that are really great for ESL students who are
trying to learn American English. I showed Street Speak 1 to an American friend and he said that the words in the books are very popular. In the book, Slangman gives many examples of the everyday slang words and expressions using dialogues in context. One of the BEST things about it is that he also shows you the dialogue on the next page rewritten as it would actually be spoken by a native!! This is so important because American pronunciation is very strange to non-native speakers. For example, instead of "We are going to have a blast at the party," the rewritten dialogue shows "W'r gonna have a blast 'it the pardy!" The audio CD follows the books exactly which I thought was really important. It's the only way to speak like a native. The exercises in the book were also very useful. It only takes about an hour to finish a chapter and after doing the exercises in the book, you really remember everything. The exercises were really fun too and the illustrations are very funny. They help you to remember the words. It's just a really fun book. I'm "HAVING A BLAST!"

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, March 20, 2006

By 

Francesco Castellacci - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Slangman Guide to Street Speak 1: The Complete Course in American Slang & Idioms (Paperback)

It's a very good book.It teach you not only the words but it teach you how to use words. You can learn the correct grammar, the accent and most important the context.
Advice: Buy also the CDs( not included with the book) or you have to order again !!!!!!