Applied Languages Books

I found this book difficult to read, not because the concepts were difficult, but because of the writing style. The author seemed to purposely use more complex or obscure terms whenever possible (well past "utilize" for "use") and never seemed to use 1 word when 4 might do.

I have read many texts in a variety of humanities (and science) topics and have not had to stop and translate the text from English to English I could understand in many years. I feel sorry for any students that are using this text.

It saddens me to see a book on language and teaching which is unclear, and attempts to create new words like "innovatory".

I absolutly hated this book. It wss aweful. dont waste your money!

While his previous work revealed many interesting facts about ELT, Pennycook's post-modern ideology leads to disaster in "Critical Applied Linguistics". Indeed, the book's structure is so postmodern that there is hardly any frame left for reader to cling to. The only overarching structure is Pennycook's construction of the four schools of applied linguistics and this classification is extremely questionable. Often one scholar is taken as representing a whole school. In the case of Widdowson, his argument is misrepresented to suit the construction of "liberal ostricism".

But the basic fallacy of the book is Pennycook's attitude towards research.Pennycook argues that, as objectivity is not possible, there is no need to try to be objective. While it is certainly true that notions such as "objectivity" and "rationalism" are often biased, the answer is not to discharge these notions but to use them while being aware of their problematic nature.

I was unaware that this book was for Cambodians. As a relief worker going to Cambodia for a month, I was looking for a good book to take to get me by. The sub-title on the book itself, and not online, is "(for Cambodians)". It would have been nice to know before I bought it.

I can not really rate the content of the book as I can not read it. Pity.

Rondal reports on a person with Down syndrome who is communicating at a level above that to be expected from people with Down syndrome. Does he raise his estimate of her intelligence (or of the maximum intelligence of people with Down syndrome? No, he does not. Instead, he declares that communiation at that level requires less intelligence than has formerly been thought. An example of academic rigitity at its worst.

I`m chilean civil engineer student, and bought this book to understand some english technical words. I can`t believe that McGraw Hill publish this pocket book it`s too basic, poor and some words are not correct. If you want to throw away your money buy it.

This is an odd book. The author attempts to explain OO development management by creating an object model of the concepts within the development process. It is an intriguing idea, but it doesn't work. The object model provides no insight that I can see to the development process, and it makes it painful to read, even when he is explaining simple situations. The one valuable part is the detailed review of other process methods (e.g. SEI's). But that alone was not worth the price, at least for this reader.

This book/CD is a waste of your time and money, mostly of your money as you can breeze through this ultra lightweight treatment in about 15 minutes. I got the impression that this was originally some kid's grade school video project because of its amateurish production values and condescendingly elementary content. It offers only the most superficial insight into body language and does not offer the depth of information you should expect (...). One segment even contains a clip of a child who looks to be all of 11, trying to convince his little friend that his Harry Potter book is really, really good...with that being about the extent of the little guy's persuasive skills, not withstanding his body language. It may be convincing if you're 11, but the whole package still has the feel of a 5th grade skit. And that kind of nonsense is passed off as some kind of professionally useful insight into body language, ostensibly produced for adult salespeople.

In the spirit of trying out their technique, I am leaning forward as I tell you that this thing is really, really bad. Photos and videos are small and grainy, making it difficult to see the postures and expressions the models are using. And making matters worse, the monotoned narrator is completely unenthusiastic and flat. I thought it was Emo Phillips at first.

This book/CD, despite its serious price, is not serious training for professional salespeople, in fact, it's insulting to view and would be embarrassing to show to others. Get the gold fish and forget this deal.

Great activities for practice of sounds that you know how to make. No help for forming the sound if you are having trouble.

I teach level 1 and 2 Spanish. I was very disappointed that I will not have a use for this book after I paid so much for it. The activities do not align with my text vocab or my State Standards. Some of the puzzles are confusing and the difficulty is beyond the 7 -12 ability. In order to use many of the activities I would have to modify them to the point that it is no longer worth it. If I had had the opportunity to preview the book first I would have never bought it. Shame too, because I am sure a lot of work went into putting it together.