Longman New English Listening and Speaking (Lower Level) Student Book

Author: Hergenberger et al. [USA]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Longman New English Listening and Speaking is a listening and speaking textbook specifically written for Asian English learners by Longman Publishing Company. Since its publication, it has quickly become a popular textbook for learning English listening and speaking in Asia. Due to its widespread popularity among learners, the textbook has been revised several times based on extensive feedback from students and teachers, making it even more perfect. The NewGoldEdition being introduced this time is the latest version of this textbook.
Target Audience: This textbook is primarily designed for adult learners, especially those who have studied some English but still struggle to communicate directly with foreigners in daily life or work. The textbook consists of two volumes, with the beginner level as the starting point. Upon completing this series, English learners will be able to communicate fluently with foreigners on topics related to daily life or work.
Writing Objectives: The primary objective of this textbook is to cultivate learners' English communicative competence. Communicative competence refers to the ability to flexibly use English based on the context of communication, the purpose of communication, and the communication partner. To this end, the textbook is based on the following philosophy: learners can only master English through genuine communication; it emphasizes "learning by using" and highlights "learning for use."
Key Features:
1. Authentic, natural, and idiomatic learning materials. The textbook aims to teach learners how to use English fluently and correctly in social life, work, or leisure activities. It closely revolves around basic communicative functions and topics, providing authentic, natural, vivid, and practical spoken materials. All the materials are real-life content that learners are likely to use in their communication, making them immediately applicable.
2. Close integration of communicative functions, topics, and language learning. Each unit of the textbook includes one or more key functions (e.g., self-introduction, asking personal information, greetings, expressing doubts, apologizing, etc.), teaching students how to initiate, develop, and conclude conversations in daily life, as well as how to express their opinions. Functions and topics are closely linked, with grammar and vocabulary learning incorporated into the content. Through repeated listening and speaking exercises, the textbook lays a solid foundation for students to participate in various communicative activities.
3. Balanced focus on listening and speaking, integrating language learning with skill development. Effective communication requires understanding the other person first. The textbook starts with listening, designing various listening tasks to repeatedly train learners' listening comprehension skills, enabling them to communicate based on what they understand. Meaningful communication also requires sufficient language support. This textbook integrates language learning with the development of listening and speaking skills, incorporating language learning into conscious communication. Learners can experience and understand the expressive function of language structures in meaningful contexts, avoiding rote memorization and mechanical application.
4. Innovative and engaging activity design, rich in inspiration and challenge. The textbook places great emphasis on learners' personal experiences and journeys. Many activities, tasks, and exercises are based on learners' own experiences, providing highly inspiring and challenging spoken practice opportunities. The goal is to give learners various chances to use the language they have learned to narrate their experiences and express their thoughts and opinions, thereby internalizing the English they have learned and truly achieving practical application.
5. Rich and practical content closely related to daily life. Each unit covers a specific topic, with rich and idiomatic content. Additionally, a large number of pictures, tables, and illustrations vividly present the language materials and communication scenarios, undoubtedly sparking learners' interest and greatly enhancing the textbook's practicality.
6. Well-organized unit structure, following the principle of gradual progression. The textbook is designed to transition from listening to speaking, with pair role-play dialogues as its core. "Information gap" exercises are interspersed, combined with personal experience activities, to increase learner engagement and training effectiveness. Language review modules highlight key knowledge and structural practice. Group activities are mostly fun tasks, emphasizing interaction among learners. Although they include "operation" instructions, they are also challenging, aiming to build learners' confidence and improve fluency. Personal activities in each unit are application-based exercises that integrate listening, reading, and writing, serving both as review and reinforcement while emphasizing the combination of learning and using.