Meetings (Effective Communications in Business English)

Components: Book and integrated Audio CD for Classroom use or self-study
Author: David King
Publisher: DELTA Publishing

Summary: An excellent learner-centered resource for ESP learners at the Pre-Intermediate to Intermediate level.

Review:
Part of the DELTA Business Communication Skills series, Meetings fills a definite niche by bringing all the language needed for various aspects of meetings into one resource, with a strong listening-speaking emphasis.

Well-organized and interesting material provides a solid foundation for the way people actually use English in meetings and a sturdy jumping-off platform for extension into role plays and real life. Using the book with in-company clients, I received great feedback from students who were pleased to report having immediately used language that they had learned in the previous lesson.

The format is consistent with the other titles in the series, with 4-page units followed by a reference page (with useful phrases, vocabulary and a study suggestion) and a revision page for the unit. The Revision pages feature a variety of exercises and consistently include a pronunciation activity, revisiting the unit’s listening component. The material is relevant enough that most business people will find parallels to their own work situations, and interesting enough to lead to some meaty discussions.

The books opens with a student-driven needs analysis that is specific to their use of English in meetings, it goes on to introduce the idea of a learning journal and encourages the setting of goals for future learning. Scattered throughout the text, in a ‘post-it note’ style, there are cultural and language tips, which explain the ‘whys’ of usage, and my students found these quite helpful. At the back of the text are 10 pages of photocopiable resources tied to the units as well as a complete answer key and transcripts.

All in all, this slender volume is a welcome addition to the Business English teacher’s repertoire.