Readers' Forum: Preface―Simply English

 

Readers’ Forum is a comprehensive four-book course that promises to make “real readers” of your students. But not only that. Along the way, learners progressively develop and master all of the essential language-learning skills. But there’s more. Each lesson in each book deals with a topic of major importance and interest. Readers’ Forum explores a wide range of current and historical issues and trends—ideas and concepts that the whole world is talking about. So rest assured: when they close the book on Readers’ Forum, your students—richly informed, linguistically confident, and socially aware—will be right in the middle of the global conversation.

 

READERS’ FORUM: PREFACE

Simply English: An Introduction to Today’s Key Concepts

The first book in the course, Simply English is a warm-up of sorts.  Using somewhat simplified vocabulary and sentence structure, it “prefaces” many of the concepts and key words and phrases that appear in succeeding volumes. But while the language level is simplified, the topics the text deals with are anything but. Simply English takes up some of today’s most important and challenging ideas, trends, and issues.

 

Key Features and Functions:

＊15 300-word essays on general subjects, including social history, anthropology, education, crime, psychology, science, and many more

＊Innovative preview activities encourage “non-stop” reading

＊Step-by-step follow-up reading-comprehension and vocabulary-expansion exercises boost understanding and linguistic confidence

LESSON 1
SOCIAL HISTORY: “Barbie Comes of Age”
LESSON 2
FOOD AND CULTURE: “But Is It Sushi?”
LESSON 3
ANIMAL WELFARE: “Best Friends Animal Society”
LESSON 4
ANTHROPOLOGY: “The Evolution of Sleep”
LESSON 5
CONTEMPORARY TRENDS: “Suspended Coffee”
LESSON 6
TECHNOLOGY: “Inspired by Nature”
LESSON 7
HISTORY/CIVIL RIGHTS: Black Like Me
LESSON 8
EMPLOYMENT: “The Future of Work”
LESSON 9
CRIME: “Ferdinand Demara”
LESSON 10
EDUCATION: “Two Trends”
LESSON 11
MARINE BIOLOGY: “A Whale of a Problem”
LESSON 12
PSYCHOLOGY: “Painful Memories”
LESSON 13
NATURE: “Totally Amazing”
LESSON 14
COMMUNICATIONS: “Inventor of E-mail Dies at 74”
LESSON 15
ENVIRONMENT: “Science Teachers vs. Climate Change”