Handshake
PETER VINEY AND KAREN VINEY
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1996
REVIEWED BY ANNA DASH
EA JOURNAL, AUSTRALIA
Handshake by Peter Viney and Karen Viney is a course book with a difference. Rather than the usual theme-based units, the eight units in Handshake are organised around aspects of communication. These are, in order, opening and closing, non-verbal communication, exchanging information, social interaction, conversation strategies, presentation, expressing feelings and a final unit based around a case study in industrial relations. This seems to me to be a very good idea, designed to extend a student’s awareness beyond the structure-and-vocabulary picture of language learning that they have become used to in high school. The book also contains an appendix of material for pair or group work (Interaction appendix) and a grammar appendix, which contains explanations and a limited amount of additional exercises. A workbook is also available separately.
Within each unit, Handshake presents structural elements necessary for the functional task in hand, a larger than usual helping of relevant listenings and a much more limited amount of reading material. The topics presented are designed to interest adults, and to be immediately useful to to the traveller, on business or holiday. Considerable emphasis is placed on politeness and appropriacy, whether expressed in words, intonation or gesture, and on cultural comparisons. Unfortunately, from an Australian point of view, these latter are largely designed foe European situation and there is little of specific relevance to Asia. Nevertheless, the information on non-verbal communication, conversation strategies, humour and presenting information would be useful for students of any nationality and is not often found in such detail of quantity in course books.
I turned to the chapter on expressing feelings to see whether the range of feelings re[resented stretched beyond the usual bland selection, and found that there were indeed, segments on expressing anger and on effective criticism. This is a step in the right direction, but it seems we will have to wait longer for the brave textbook which deals with what people really talk about, the one with functional titles such as ‘expressing boredom’, ‘talking about relationship problems’, ‘saying how fed up you are’, ‘chatting someone up in the pub’ or ‘replying to people who are rude to you’.
Handshake is designed for pre-intermediate to intermediate students, but includes functions often found in elementary books such as greetings, giving personal information and asking ‘WH’ questions. However, the way in which they are presented makes it possible to use them for revision without having the students feel that they are demeaning.
Among sections of the book which I particularly liked were ‘If you don’t know words’, , (how to order at a buffet when you don’t know the name of dishes), ‘Turntaking’ and ‘Women and Men’ in the unit on conversation strategies, and ‘Paraphrasing’ in the case study unit. ‘Women and Men’ is the only instance I can remember of a textbook which makes any detailed reference to the differences between women’s language and that of men.
On the negative side, I found some of the practice activities for structures or vocabulary a little meaningless and/or perfunctory – for example, adding a list of vocabulary items to the ‘She’s looking for someone who is/has….’ in Unit Three or changing sentences to a negative form in the section on modal verbs in Unit Four.
Handshake is well presented, with very clear, attractive layout and enough but not too many illustrations. Attention is paid in the illustrations to avoidance of racial and gender stereotypes.
This book would be a useful text for a pre-intermediate or intermediate class of ELICOS students, but would need supplementing with additional reading, and vocabulary exercised. Some of the exercises on cultural differences and politeness would also be useful for migrant classes.
Anna Dash is a Senior Teacher at Sydney Language Centre.
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Handshake: a course in communication
Peter and Karen Viney
The course includes a Student’s Book (ISBN 0-19-457220-X), Teacher’s Book, Workbook and Cassettes, (Oxford University Press).
Reviewed by Paul Cane
IATEFL NEWSLETTER
Over the past few years EFL book-watchers such as myself have noticed an explosion in a specialist area of the course book market; course, generally at low lever, for adults in work that focus on general communication skills improvement with some elements of what has been described as ‘Professional English’ – the English required for work and perhaps travel, whatever that may be. Whether it is possible to identify English required for general professional work is a moot point, but publishers should be congratulated on providing us with a wider range of courses. In the past many teachers found it very difficult to find an appropriate course book amongst the range of standard General and more specialised Business English courses for groups of adults in work.
“Handshake” is a pre-intermediate course for people in work. It is immediately apparent the it isn’t a Business English course, so in what way does it differ from a standard General English course book? The key difference is that it focuses on improving students’ oral communication skills, with a less marked emphasis on linguistic accuracy. It does not pretend to provide a balance range of skills work. In fact in the Student’s book there are virtually no activities aimed at development of writing skills – perhaps the book’s subsidiary title should really be “course in ORAL communication skills”. Units are not based on topics but on aspects of oral communication (sometimes with a functional/notional feel). Therefore we have unit titles such as “Social Interaction”, “Expressing Feelings”, “Conversation Strategies” and “Requests”. The promotional literature claims, with some justification, that the book “deals with…skills traditionally taught only at higher levels, or…not…at all”. Indeed this course does include a lot of useful work on communication strategies and skills such as turn taking, use of conversation fillers, body language and ‘saying the right thing’ that are often neglected at this level.
Let’s have a look at how these general characteristics work their way into unit structure and classroom activities. There are 8 units, averaging at around 15 pages each. At the end of each unit there is a Language Focus – baldly speaking 2 pages of well constructed grammar exercises. At the end of the book we have an Interaction Appendix (role cards etc.), a useful Active Grammar Appendix (grammar reference) and a Listening Appendix (tapescripts – thank you author and publisher). The units themselves are not uniform in length or structure but have a similar feel in that they are all broken down into between 7 and 10 sections that have functional, notional or other communication-based headings that loosely fit within the overall unit title. So the “Expressing feelings” unit includes section headings such as “Compliments”, “Complaining”, “Being a good listener” and “How often do you get angry?”. I like the way that these headings put a firm emphasis on communication but I did find it difficult to find my way around the book just from the Contents page and the unit and section headings. For example the Contents page does not indicate where reading texts or activities are to be found. The Teacher’s Book helps but of course is not available to students- and indeed, some teachers.
All the units include lots of very interesting and practical oral activities, many with a keen focus on communication skills and strategies. The process within the units from awareness raising of aspects of communication (nearly always involving some listening) through to interactive practice is perhaps the main strength of the book. I was impressed by the range of oral activity type and length and, more importantly, by the oral activity type and length and, more importantly, by the oral skills development carefully fostered by the lead up, preparation and execution of these activities.
It is interesting to examine how the book “gives plenty of help with grammar, but is not grammar based” as the publisher tells us. The main body of each unit offers virtually no explicit grammar work. However, there is a systematic (albeit less comprehensive than in most course books) grammar syllabus running through the book in that the authors have identified areas of grammar relevant to the main communication skills syllabus and dealt with these via the Language Focus section in each unit, the Active Grammar Appendix (sounds painful!), and the Workbook. Throughout each unit there are useful references to relevant points of grammar: for example, in a section on “Giving Instructions” students are referred in passing to Conditionals type 1 which they can read about and then practice using the separate Grammar sections. If the teacher feels a grammar point needs introducing and clarifying they will have to do it themselves as there is nothing in the Student’s Book beyond formal written explanation, although the Teacher’s Book provides some ideas. I imagine that the way grammar is treated is designed to focus attention on fluent production in communication without what may be the distraction of a myriad of grammatical inaccuracies. It also gives the teacher a lot of flexibility with regard to the role of grammar work on the course: it can be lift for self access or play a more central role if the teacher has the skills to do their own grammar ‘presentations’. However, with this flexibility goes a lot of responsibility for important decision taking. Either way students will need to be reasonably independent learners to make good use of the Grammar sections. In passing I would add that there is explicit work on phonology (some very useful intonation work) and vocabulary but not perhaps as much as many teachers would want.
This is an interesting book that brings to the learning of English originality in its approach and its wealth of interactive activities based, in particular, around conversation. I think that this book will work very well for mature learners whose prime aim is to improve their ability to communicate effectively in speech and who understand that grammatical accuracy is not of over-riding importance in the achievement of this. I think it will work best with the skilled teachers who can decide for themselves in consultation with the students quite how grammar should be dealt with and how to supplement the work provided on phonology and vocabulary.
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HANDSHAKE
PETER VINEY & KAREN VINEY
(Oxford University Press, 1996)
Handshake is a pre-intermediate level course. It aims to cover the needs of a wide range of students, from those who may go on to study English as an academic subject to those needing the language for work purposes.
Because it is aimed at such a broad readership, you might think this book falls short of the mark. You would be wrong. It succeeds because it does not try to be all things to all people. Instead, it concentrates on communication, and specifically (and refreshingly) on “behaviour” rather than “content” – how we communicate not what we communicate. This means that learners can even extend their knowledge about communication in their mother tongue.
Handshake is divided into nine units, each of which focuses on particular strategies, including requests, non-verbal communication and exchanging information. Each unit uses material that has been carefully chosen to demonstrate certain structures, and, more importantly, vocabulary learners can actually use this material instead of just filing it away.
The authors’ aim is to separate practice of a communication skill from in-depth consideration of a language structure. This works because of the range of exercises and the well sign-posted sections for further discussion – at the end of each unit, there is an Active Grammar Appendix and a Language Focus.
This aim – to be as practical as possible – is carried further in the frequent interaction work. Here, students work in pairs and think about a situation or problem relevant to the unit – for example, using eye contact whilst reading texts ( non-verbal communication).
Overall, students are encouraged to think about their learning – for instance, in unit 5 (conversation strategies) students reflect on how they learn. All this work is supported by the accompanying cassette. A lot of work for the teacher but worth it for the student feedback.
Maria Barenskie
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Handshake: a course in communication
Peter Viney and Karen Viney
Oxford University Press
This book fits neatly into the space that exists in (Business) English teaching materials between the general ‘theme based’ type course books covering issues such as marketing, team-building, management styles etc. on the one hand and functional/skill based materials, such as presenting, negotiating, meetings etc. on the other hand.
It does this by using ‘communication skills’ rather than structures of functions as the basis for the syllabus. Combined with a learning awareness raising approach, the aim is to get students thinking about all aspects of communicating and, through a wide range of hands-on activities, doing it. There is little explicit grammar work in the main part of each unit, although it does have an underlying graded structural content and each of the eight units has a language focus section at the end dealing briefly with specific grammar topics. It also introduces a limited amount of new vocabulary around the functional themes used to develop each communication skill. There is no attempt at balanced use of all the language skills, the focus being clearly on oral communication, to the almost complete exclusion of writing.
Who is it for? The target users are low-level, roughly pre-intermediate, adults in work situations and it would be suitable for a wide range of classes, not just Business English situations, but anywhere that a focus on active communications is needed. It would suit learners who would benefit from a fresh approach to the language, rather then simply progressing up the ladder of language levels.
It is ambitious in introducing a whole range of elements of communication skills and strategies that are normally only found at higher levels. For this reason, as well as the minimal grammar presentation, I think the book requires very careful use by teachers who are flexible and experienced enough to know how and when to supplement it. Because role-playing and improvisation are central to using Handshake, the guidance given in the teacher’s book, interleaved with the students book pages, is essential and provides many ideas for fully exploiting the material.
Each unit is divided into 7-10 one or two page sections. For example Unit 1. Openings and Closings contains: Greetings; Culture questionnaire; Introducing yourself; Introductions; Introducing other people; Shaking hands; Re-introducing yourself; Forms of address; Starting a conversation; Asking questions; Closing a conversation. Much of the input material is cassette based, so considerable listening practice is provided.
It is full of interesting, varied and often amusing texts and dialogues and, providing students realise it is not a traditional grammar course, it can provide a lot of stimulating language practice.
Reviewer: Chris Murray, Business English Teacher, British Council, Prague
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Handshake
Peter Viney and Karen Viney
Oxford University Press
A Course in communication
The package includes a student’s book, a workbook, a teacher’s book, and a cassette.
Handshake looks fun! It aims to deal with language in the order it’s needed by pre-intermediate students who have to operate in an English environment, whether for business, or social reasons, and as such quite radically reorganises the sequence in which language is taught, concentrating first on the function “getting help”, then going on to a long and meaty chapter on non verbal communication before dealing with various language strategies. It will make a lot of teachers’ lives easier, especially those of us living and working in England, as this is precisely the order of priority of many of our learners. For those teachers abroad and missing “The Archers”, the tape cannot be too highly recommended. Aside from that, the dialogues on the cassette are interesting and quite difficult, requiring register recognition as will as semantic comprehension.
Handshake provides loads of material to stimulate lively classroom debate, but I have to say that I would not attempt to present this to a group that I didn’t already know will, and that hadn’t gelled enough to be able to share confidences. A lot of the material requires the learners to give opinions that reveal a lot about their attitude an cultural orientation. It could easily be every teacher’s nightmare with those who do not like to give their opinions. The ideal group to use this with as coursebook would probably be a young pre experience or recently graduated group. However, it’s possible uses are considerably extended by it being a book that can be dipped into, as will as worked through systematically. It can also be used in response to the particular needs of a group or an individual, either for Business or General English. There are even sections which could have a wider application in a classroom discussion with a more advanced group.
There is excellent cultural awareness raising discussion throughout Handshake, but structure is not forgotten. Each unit includes a grammar focus, and if followed up with exercises from the workbook these would provide a sound structural base to a course. The emphasis is always on communication rather than structural perfection, and concentrates on making sure that the learner has all the strategies needed to understand, get repetition, clarify the information received, instructions, directions etc. At the end of this course, a student will at least be equipped with the language awareness tools to survive the UK or US, or working for an English speaking company, but will obviously need extensive practice. The emphasis is rather on recognition of and response to style, mood, etc. than on creating it.
There are eight units, each dealing with a topic in depth: the last unit being a case study, which provides an excellent shift of focus away from the individual, and gives the learners the chance to reinforce and practice all the strategies they have learnt.
• Introductory Unit: Asking for help
• Unit One: Opening and Closing
• Unit Two: Non verbal Communication
• Unit Three: Exchanging Information
• Unit Four: Social Interaction
• Unit Five: Conversation Strategies
• Unit Six: Presentation
• Unit Seven: Feelings
• Unit Eight: Case Study
This genuinely fresh approach to pre intermediate teaching deserves a place alongside our old favourites and standards. It at least attempts to present English as a living breathing thing, and acknowledges that the reason most people learn the language is because they need to do something through using the language, and that, increasingly, the impression made while performing that task is as important as the actual results.
Reviewed by Daphne Laing
IATEFL
Business English, SIG
May 1997
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