Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language Coursebook (Cambridge International Examinations) New Edition

I'm in the process of planning my teaching for 2014/15 and I'm going to get this for my students. Its excellent for students to follow up afterwards and to check their understandings.

will buy again

English teachers usually teach all over the spectrum of literature so this is not as helpful as one might think.

Arrgh!A more obscure, cryptic, roundabout, enigmatic textbook would be, I think, nearly impossible to find.This book is supposed to prepare students to take the AS or A Level English Language Examination and it's likely everything you need to know is in there, but good luck finding it! Not a chart, table, glossary, or summary to be found. Just swirly combinations of sample passages, responses, and exercises with a few relevant tips and bits of information seeded throughout like needles in a haystack.The authors instruct the student to evaluate sample responses, but give no instructions or rubric to give the student direction in doing so. They give few useful explanations as to what differentiates a good response from a poor one, or what it is the graders of the exam will be looking for.Relevant information is hidden so cleverly it seems intentional. The book never puts important ideas or vocabulary in the same font or location in the chapter. Never summarizes the teaching points in one place. Does not organize the material so that the student can construct a useful outline of the important points. Does not give any test taking strategies. Does not even explain the basic elements of the Exams - how long they are, how many questions there are, point distribution among the questions, or the overall goals to be reached for in your answers.This book was purchased for a student in the United States at a school for which the Cambridge program is fairly new, and the teachers not as well versed in teaching the material as you would find in a country that has traditionally used the Cambridge assessments. We were looking for a book that could be used by the student as a supplement to his classwork, the way one might use a Barron’s or Princeton Review test guide. This was NOT that book.Ironically, he found the Oxford Press published guide to the Cambridge English Language Exam much more practical in its approach and organization. I’d start there.