PUB TYPE Book/Product Reviews (072)

This report reviews four English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) textbooks, using criteria developed for volunteer-based organizations (VB0s). It illustrates the process that VB0s need to undertake prior to ESL textbook selection. The four texts include the following: "Laubach Way to English " (J. Macero and M. Lane), which focuses on linguistic rather than communicative competence; "Life Prints " (J. Podnecky, A. Grogriet, and J. Crandall), which aims to give adults the language skills they need to function in their many roles in society; "Side-By-Side " (S. Molinsky and B. Bliss), a grammar-based text that focuses on oral grammatical accuracy; and "The Oxford Picture Dictionary" " (J. Adelson-Goldstein, N. Shapiro, and R. Weiss), which emphasizes fluency in everyday activities through expanded vocabulary of everyday things. For each book, the report includes details on text objectives, approach, instructional format, learner reality, training needed, friendliness, learner placement and progress, and cost. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education.) (Contains 10 bibliographic references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document