"Basic English Language Skills (With CD)" Taken from the preface of the book: Basic English Language Skills is intended for the intermediate and upper intermediate ESL/EFL learners, for example the first- and second- year university students, as well as those intending to take IELTS. It is expected that the book will help the learners improve, extend and consolidate their command of the four basic skills reading, writing, speaking and listening, of the English language. It presents a brief but adequate discussion on and practice with the varied aspects of each of the four basic skills as used in authentic communication. This book has three parts: Part One: Reading includes the preliminaries of reading, such as what reading is, what problems a piece of text poses, who can read, the ways of reading scanning, skimming, average reading and study reading, and practice with word meaning, comprehension, text organization, sentence construction, the writer's attitudes, grammar items, summarizing main points, and so on. Part Two: Writing covers paragraph and essay writinggenerating ideas, structure, organization, techniques, linking devices, making outline plans, sample paragraphs and essays, and so forth. This part also presents the formats, styles and examples of different types of letter. Part Three: Speaking and Listening deals with the basics of speaking and listening including varied functions in day- today life situations- greetings, farewells, requesting, offering, inviting, apologizing, expressing regrets, etc, and practice with pronunciation of common words, utterances, and dialogues accompanied by an audio recording. It is finally recommended that the learners should first endeavour to understand and acquire the basics of the four basic skills and then practise them as designed, and instructed in a number of units.
