The basic texts
1) Listen carefully to the recording of Text One, more than once, with your book closed.
2) Read through the text in your book, then listen again, your book open.
3) Study the text carefully, looking up unknown vocabulary, and making sure you understand each sentence.
4) Close both books and listen again, with understanding.
5) Repeat steps 1) to 4) for Text Two.
6) Do the same for Text Three.
Study and practice
Read the Notes: Forms and Patterns carefully, referring back to the texts to study the examples they contain. If you have difficulty with this section, make a note to return to it later.
Study the Prepositions, Verbs, Phrases, Idioms page, comparing the new examples with those in the texts, and noting the particular kinds of English in which some of them are used.
(For Programme 1 only, follow the special instructions for the Practice Section texts on p.11.)
Listen to the recorded Practice Section text, speaking the words and phrases in the pauses as accurately as you can. Try to copy the intonation or the “music” of the speech. Play the recording several times. If it is of Text Three, you are asked, you are asked in the final part of the exercise not simply to repeat but to remember and say four lines of dialogue; do not try if you cannot do so at this stage.
Study what you have heard and repeated in the Key at the back of the book.
Listen and speak again, until you are satisfied with your performance.
Study the first Practice Section text in your book carefully. (It is not recorded.)
Read it aloud, more than once. (Read Text One line by line; Text Two, phrase by phrase as marked.) Think particularly about intonation.
Listen to the appropriate Basic Text recording again, concentration on the same or similar phrases.
Read the Practice Section text aloud at least once more. Try to look up from the page while speaking.
Repeat steps 6) to 9) for the remaining short text in your book. (Read aloud both parts of the dialogue from Text Three.)
3 Drills and exercises
Play your recording of Drills 1 and 2. Each begins with two examples, with model student responses; listen to these carefully, then speak the series of response lines yourself in the pauses.
Look at the examples of Drills 1 and 2 printed in your book, listening to the recording again.
Practices giving the responses until you are satisfied with your performance – both with what you say and the way you say it!
Study the full forms of Drills 1 and 2 in the Key.
Listen to the examples, with model student responses, for Drills 3, 4 and 5, following them in your book. Do this more than once.
For each of these drills, read the printed stimulus lines silently, and speak the response lines aloud.
Check your responses in the Key, and study the full forms of Drills 3, 4, and 5.
Do the six Written Exercises in your book. It is always good practice to write each sentence or paragraph in full. Refer back to the texts and Notes if you need to.
Check your answers in the Key at the back. If you have made a lot of mistakes in an exercise, make a note to write it again later.
REVIEW
Play through the recordings once more, pausing when you do not understand or fail to repeat accurately, and playing the section again.
Read carefully through each of the sections in your book once more.
Repeat in detail any section of the Programme which you did not carry out well the first time.
x
Key to Symbols
The following symbols and abbreviations are used in the Notes and Practice Sections:
N.B. Note carefully
c.f. compare with
(X … X) Wrong or inappropriate English
S Generally informal, spoken English
W Generally formal, written English
Sw More spoken than written
Ws More written than spoken
(R) Full drill recorded