Review by words -- Idiom Attack Vol. 1 Everyday Living (...
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- Latest Review: Idiom Attack Vol. 1 Everyday Living (French Edition) by Peter Liptak
Review by words -- Idiom Attack Vol. 1 Everyday Living (...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Idiom Attack Vol. 1 Everyday Living (French Edition)" by Peter Liptak.]
Idiom Attack Vol. 1: Everyday Living (French Edition) is one of a series of books by Peter Liptak, Matthew Douma and Jay Douma. Every one of these books helps learners of English to familiarise themselves with idioms and learn how to use them in daily life. 300 commonly-used idioms are split into twenty-five categorised chapters, in which the idioms are clearly explained in both English and French.
As a language teacher, I have always found learning techniques that integrate one language naturally into another to be extremely beneficial to students. By creating the right feelings around words and phrases, students then find it much easier to utilise new vocabulary naturally in a foreign language. This book focuses entirely on this integrative approach to language learning, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover its contents.
The three-step learning process for each idiom involves studying its meaning through bilingual sentence integration, getting familiar with the idiom through fill-in-the-blanks exercises and finally, developing understanding and retention of each idiom through carefully crafted stories. Every part of the book is perfectly translated by Marie-Odile Kippen and simple language is used, making the material accessible to beginners and yet exceptionally useful for the advanced reader. The generous translations provided throughout help to motivate any French-speaking reader to tackle the English first, knowing they will have a clear explanation to follow and any confusion cleared up in the translation. I feel this structure is what really makes this book stand out.
Whilst I found the format and content of this book to be engaging enough to hold the reader’s interest, an area I feel could be improved is the story section that concludes each chapter. The premise is excellent: categorising the idioms in such a way that they can be gathered together in a logical story. However, the stories themselves often lack excitement and intrigue, which I feel would greatly enhance the final step in this learning process. This is my only criticism and certainly doesn’t constitute a good enough reason to lower my rating.
To any French speakers looking to explore the world of English idioms, this is an excellent place to start. No specific reading order is required, making it the kind of book that can be referred to again and again. It also contains a handy idiom index which is excellent for easy reference. I would recommend this book, not just to students, but to teachers too. The material in this book is an excellent foundation for lesson planning and can even be used without further editing if required. The book is wholly successful in conveying that, whilst idioms can be confusing and are perhaps most difficult to learn, they are also some of the most beautiful, colourful aspects of a language and can be thoroughly enjoyed. I happily give this book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Idiom Attack Vol. 1 Everyday Living (French Edition)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Idiom Attack Vol. 1: Everyday Living (French Edition) is one of a series of books by Peter Liptak, Matthew Douma and Jay Douma. Every one of these books helps learners of English to familiarise themselves with idioms and learn how to use them in daily life. 300 commonly-used idioms are split into twenty-five categorised chapters, in which the idioms are clearly explained in both English and French.
As a language teacher, I have always found learning techniques that integrate one language naturally into another to be extremely beneficial to students. By creating the right feelings around words and phrases, students then find it much easier to utilise new vocabulary naturally in a foreign language. This book focuses entirely on this integrative approach to language learning, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover its contents.
The three-step learning process for each idiom involves studying its meaning through bilingual sentence integration, getting familiar with the idiom through fill-in-the-blanks exercises and finally, developing understanding and retention of each idiom through carefully crafted stories. Every part of the book is perfectly translated by Marie-Odile Kippen and simple language is used, making the material accessible to beginners and yet exceptionally useful for the advanced reader. The generous translations provided throughout help to motivate any French-speaking reader to tackle the English first, knowing they will have a clear explanation to follow and any confusion cleared up in the translation. I feel this structure is what really makes this book stand out.
Whilst I found the format and content of this book to be engaging enough to hold the reader’s interest, an area I feel could be improved is the story section that concludes each chapter. The premise is excellent: categorising the idioms in such a way that they can be gathered together in a logical story. However, the stories themselves often lack excitement and intrigue, which I feel would greatly enhance the final step in this learning process. This is my only criticism and certainly doesn’t constitute a good enough reason to lower my rating.
To any French speakers looking to explore the world of English idioms, this is an excellent place to start. No specific reading order is required, making it the kind of book that can be referred to again and again. It also contains a handy idiom index which is excellent for easy reference. I would recommend this book, not just to students, but to teachers too. The material in this book is an excellent foundation for lesson planning and can even be used without further editing if required. The book is wholly successful in conveying that, whilst idioms can be confusing and are perhaps most difficult to learn, they are also some of the most beautiful, colourful aspects of a language and can be thoroughly enjoyed. I happily give this book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Idiom Attack Vol. 1 Everyday Living (French Edition)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
