Beneath the cover title, Speak English like an American is the subtitle: Learn the Idioms & Expressions that will Help You Speak like a Native! This book achieves this entitled aim by providing opportunities to learn and practice literally hundreds of idioms and expressions from American English. Gaining ability in using idioms is no easy task; idioms are one of a number of language characteristics for speaking that are quite complex. Yet, it is critical for students to work with idioms because, as aspiring interlocutors, students must be able to grasp the workings of idiomatic speech utterances to maintain conversation. The study of idioms and expressions will aid in the improvement of speaking both fluently and accurately; speech may be improved in terms of fluency because knowledge of idioms helps conversation to flow smoothly and naturally, while speech may also increase in terms of accuracy because a student who hears an idiom will know how to respond appropriately. Thus, attention to Gillett’s idioms and expressions will certainly help learners to improve their speaking skills for several reasons.
Speak English like an American is user-friendly for English language learners because the idioms and expressions are presented through dialogues. This interactive approach to the material mirrors authentic speech and turn-taking. In addition, by using dialogues, the author effectively situates the targeted idioms and expressions within an appropriate context. The attached CD offers learners a chance to follow along with each of the full dialogues. Students can focus on pronunciation and fluency aspects of using the targeted language in context.
