New Ideas Single Skill Textbook · Speaking (Level 5) (Zhang Zixin)

Author: Zhang Xin'an, Chief Editor
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: "New Ideas Comprehensive Skills Textbooks" are specifically written by the PETS Research Team for the "National Public English Test (PETS)." The entire series consists of 20 volumes, providing targeted training and guidance in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills for candidates at PETS Levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. This series has the following four characteristics:
Novelty — The entire series follows a student-centered teaching philosophy, integrating the communicative principles of the PETS exam to enhance candidates' language communication skills through training. Unlike traditional models that emphasize language structure, this series focuses on the practicality of language communication. Its novelty lies in the alignment of communicative functions with candidates' communicative needs: oral communicative functions meet candidates' spoken communication needs, writing techniques align with their written expression needs, and reading and listening comprehension methods satisfy their information acquisition needs.
Authority — Members of the PETS Research Team are well-versed in the PETS exam syllabus, question setting, and scoring criteria, having conducted specialized research in these areas. Therefore, the entire series closely aligns with the syllabi of all PETS levels and accurately reflects the exam principles and requirements for language skills at each level. The main authors have all undergone training abroad and possess deep expertise in foreign language teaching and testing. They are responsible for designing and writing the language skills for each level, ensuring the authority of the textbooks.
Applicability — This series is tailored to the specific needs of PETS candidates, considering their self-study habits. It not only imparts knowledge but also includes skill expansion exercises, vocabulary notes, practice questions, and answers. Except for the oral component, which is designed for pair training, the listening, reading, and writing sections are aimed at individual learners. Thus, the explanations and exercises in each volume are tailored to the needs of the target audience.
Engaging — The series incorporates humorous stories, cartoons, games, and interesting anecdotes in English to make learning lively, visually engaging, and enjoyable. This approach effectively motivates learners and enhances learning outcomes. This oral textbook is entirely designed according to the requirements of the PETS Level 5 exam and is divided into six parts: (1) Comics; (2) Stories; (3) Discussion Exercises; (4) Audio Materials; (5) Exercise Answers; (6) Vocabulary List. The Comic and Story sections are accompanied by audio recordings narrated by British and American experts. The Discussion Exercise section includes reference answers (excluding some open-ended exercises). All out-of-syllabus vocabulary is annotated, and a vocabulary list is provided at the end of the book for reference.
In line with the exam syllabus requirements and the need for English communicative ability training among candidates, this textbook meets their needs in the following four aspects:
1. Familiarity with exam format;
2. Familiarity with exam content;
3. Language expression;
4. Active communication.
Author Bio: Zhang Xin'an, Ph.D., is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the English Department of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Born in 1957 in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, he obtained a Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University in the United States in 1991 and taught English writing courses there for six years. From 1992 to 1993, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at Sorbonne University (Paris IV, France). Since 1998, he has been teaching at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He has published one monograph on literary criticism, ten papers on literary criticism and English writing in Western countries, and several papers on literary criticism and English writing teaching in China. Domestically, he has authored an English writing textbook (funded by the National Education Commission's Excellent Young Teachers Project in 1995) and numerous papers on literary criticism and English writing teaching.