Introducing Language in Use: a Coursebook
Introducing Language in Use is a comprehensive coursebook for students new to the study of language and linguistics.
Written by a highly experienced team of teachers, this coursebook is lively and accessible, interactive and above all produced with students firmly in mind. Drawing on a vast range of data and examples of language in its many forms, the book provides students with the tools they need to analyse real language in diverse contexts. Designed to be highly adaptable for course use, the authors suggest a range of different routes through the book.
Highlights about the book:
- Covers all the core areas and topics of language study:
- Language, Semiotics and Communication
- Grammar
- Phonetics
- Words
- Semantics
- Variety in language
- History of English
- World Englishes
- Multilingualism
- Psycholinguistics
- Child language acquisition
- Conversation analysis
- Pragmatics
- Power and politeness
- Language in Education
- Has units contributed by Sushie Dobbinson (Unit 8) and John Field (Unit 11), expanding the range of expertise
- Adopts a ‘how to’ approach, encouraging students to apply their knowledge as they learn it
- Presents many examples drawn from varied domains (including conversation, advertising and text messaging), always giving precedence to real language in use
- Includes activities throughout the text with commentaries, summaries, suggestions for further reading and an extensive glossary of terms
- Features a final unit which offers students further practice in analysing language in use
This will be an essential coursebook for all introductory courses in English language, communication and linguistics.
Students' praise for Introducing Language in Use:
“In a nutshell, it encompasses all the richness of information found in similar textbooks and delivers it in a refreshingly student-friendly way. I wish I could have had it in my first year.”
“The layout is impressive … the activities are useful and their respective commentaries are excellent. Very informative, lots of detail and, more importantly for first years, readable so therefore understandable.”
“The humour included in some of the chapters was very much appreciated — in fact I think it's a winning ingredient — it certainly made me want to carry on reading.”
“The writing style was excellent. I thought it was clear, conveying extremely accessible information and knowledge to the reader at all times, it ensured that the text could be easily understood and ideas could be communicated in a basic and ‘down to earth’ way. The jargon was accessible, not daunting and the text itself felt as though it had been written with students and not professors in mind — it spoke the language of the ‘everyday’ person.”
“In my opinion the book is perfect for 1st, 2nd and 3rd years as I believe everyone could take something from it.”
“I think this is a great Reader for first years. It is easy to read because it is less formal — also it makes the material seem more accessible in the first instance.”
Using this Book
Download this PDF file that explains what the book covers and how it deals with the topics featured.
Sample Unit
There is a sample unit from the book available to download. The unit is featured in the book and covers conversation analysis.