Meet the Authors of Focus on Grammar, Fourth Edition
Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner
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Hello, and welcome to this, our first newsletter article about Focus on Grammar 4e. These last two years have flown by so fast that it’s hard to believe we’ve finished another edition of Focus on Grammar, or as we like to say, that we’ve passed through another FOG. It ‘s been an exhilarating (and exhausting) journey, but we’ve emerged rejuvenated. Now we’re eager to share information about this exciting new edition with our teaching colleagues.
One of the best things about writing a new edition is getting the chance to write about new themes. It’s an exciting challenge to choose and research new topics that will capture the interest and imagination of our readers. We love finding topics that merge naturally with the grammar points: The sinking of the Titanic with the past progressive and simple past, for example. Social networking with a review of modals. “What if…?” alternate histories with the unreal past conditional.
Each new edition also gives us the opportunity to respond to invaluable market feedback. Users who asked for more writing and listening, for example, will be happy to see how we’ve expanded these features in the fourth edition. We’ve also introduced new features that will help students actively use the grammar. A vocabulary strand highlights and recycles high frequency words while practicing the grammar. A pronunciation point in each unit helps students understand the spoken language, and be understood when they speak. Review tests after each unit provide immediate feedback so students can monitor their own progress.
Our series co-authors share our enthusiasm. Irene Schoenberg can’t wait to hear the reaction of students and teachers to the new units “Shopping for Electronics,” “A Friend from Long Ago,” and “Desserts, Cooking, and Baking,” for example. Jay Maurer believes the most impressive new feature is the pronunciation component. In his experience, students are highly motivated to improve their pronunciation and enjoy doing exercises that deal with this need.
We’ll be writing about these features and more in the coming months. So, please stay tuned to the FOG Newsletter as we discuss some of what makes Focus on Grammar unique. And of course we welcome all of your comments and questions!
If you want detailed information on the new edition, please visit the Focus on Grammar website.
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