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Title: Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts : A Detailed Guide to Real-Life Conversation and Small Talk by Richard A. Spears ISBN: 0-07-140560-7 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 20 November, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (5 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: A reference book
Comment: The author is neither mad nor ashamed. This reference work is
filled with expressions that perplex ESL students, yet do not
often appear in dictionaries of slang or idiomatic English.
This is a reference work, not a teaching textbook. I think the first edition appeared in 1991, and the title has been in demand in the ESL market since it first appeared. Native speakers may not find the entries remarkable, but learners of English do. Check the sample pages. It may serve your needs.
Cheers, R. Spears, the author.

Rating: 1
Summary: Worthless
Comment: Mr. Spears should be ashamed of himself. 80% of the entries are not common: you will never hear them in a theater (no matter what time period the movie is) nor on the radio or TV. I think Mr. Spears must be mad.

About myself. I scored a 680 out of 800 (92%) on the verbal portion of the GRE.

Rating: 3
Summary: Better as a reference than a gude
Comment: Here's the problem: Context isn't considered in the book's FORMAT; the book gives phrases and idioms in alphabetical order. There are examples of usage given for each entry, but the alphabetical listing is not helpful for students learning new phrases, that is, there is no grouping in context. For example, if you want to learn a set of common phrases used when telephoning, or when you perhaps want to find out how to interrupt someone politely or otherwise, you're out of luck with this book. No way to go to a section on phoning, or conversational guidelines. To use this book, you need to have heard a phrase, memorized it, and want to look it up. It can be a good reference, probably useful for students doing translations.

In short, it's a shelf book, not a book geared for teachers to teach with or students to teach themselves from.

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