New Trends Competency Based English Language Course Student Book 2

Abstract

New Trends Competency Based English Language Course 2 aims at reaching the knowledge and competencies levels B1 and B2, of the Common European Framework of Reference; one of the most popular and accepted frameworks for language learning. New Trends Competency English Language Course Student Book 2 and Reinforcement book 2 have been designed following, in part, the pattern of level one: i). The systematic and gradual learning of the four basic skills of a language: Speaking, Reading, Writing, and listening. ii). The acquisition of knowledge, competencies and practicality demanded by an ever increasingly competitive world. iii). The acquisition and development of a higher mastery level of reflection and creativity. iv). The pondering, learning and adoption of wisdom learned through reflection and analysis. The framework of this book consists of five modules which in turn contain six sections; each section is sub-divided in six parts: Part 1 is dedicated to the study and analysis of readings selected according to a logical progress. Part 2 is dedicated to the learning and acquisition of vocabulary connected to the topics dealt within the reading section. Part 3 is dedicated to the acquisition of grammatical knowledge in a logical and progressive way. Part 4 is dedicated to writing composition, an extremely important ability that a student must acquire; throughout this process, students exercise imagination and develops creativity and innovation. Part 5 is dedicated to listening comprehension, a basic ability that a learner must possess in order to understand people from the English-speaking world. Part 6 is dedicated to speaking, one of the most important abilities that a student must have, in order to express his/her ideas, state his/her arguments, and persuade or dissuade in order to get to where he/she wants to go. This section will increase creativity in students enormously. At the end of the speaking section, we include a quote, a saying or a proverb. We are convinced that the reflection and pondering of this maxims can help students get a better understanding and appreciation of the world they are living in and it will help them develop good habits and attitudes towards their fellowmen and the planet. At the end of each module, students make a “mastery test” in which performance is assessed on a scale of 0 to 100. In order to make this course more enjoyable and practical, we include two songs per module in which students practice pronunciation, learn new vocabulary, idioms and other figures of speech of a great value for learners of a foreign language. The last pages include the “ answer keys” for vocabulary exercises and for listening comprehension audio-exercises; this will help students and teachers in being certain of the proper solutions.