Includes appendix, answer key and listening tips.

A free Self-Study Audio CD is also included in every Student's Book.

"Active Listening, Second Edition is a fully updated and revised edition of the popular three-level listening series for adult and young adult learners of North American English. Each level offers students 16 engaging, task-based units, each built around a topic, function, or grammatical theme. Grounded in the theory that learners are more successful listeners when they activate their prior knowledge of a topic, the series gives students a frame of reference to make predictions about what they will hear. Through a careful balance of activities, students learn to listen for main ideas, to listen for details, and to listen and make inferences" (Book Cover).

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Unit 1: What do you say first?
Listening tasks
1 A good first impression
2 Keep the conversation going
Speaking
We have a lot in common : Practicing conversation patterns with classmates
Pronunciation Intonation of questions

Unit 2: Sights and sounds
Listening tasks
1 The five senses
2 The smell of money
Speaking
Sales sense : Designing a product that appeals to the senses
Pronunciation
Vowel sounds

Unit 3: Dating
Listening tasks
1 Which way is best?
2 How did they meet?
Speaking My best match : Sharing information about what is important in a partner
Pronunciation
Intonation of lists

Unit 4: Communication and culture
Listening tasks
1 I just don't understand
2 It's our style
Speaking Good communication : sharing tips for good communication
Pronunciation /t/ in shouldn't
Expansion 1: Russia: Information and an authentic student interview

Unit 5: The Internet
Listening tasks
1 Great site!
2 The growth of the Internet
Speaking
My homepage : Designing a homepage
Pronunciation Linked sounds

Unit 6: Superstitions
Listening tasks
1 Around the world
2 The real meaning
Speaking
Are you superstitious? : Playing a board game
Pronunciation Regular rhythm of stressed words

Unit 7: Manners
Listening tasks
1 It drives me crazy!
2 Mind your manners
Speaking
It really bothers me : Sharing situations that drive you crazy
Pronunciation Emphasis to express strong emotion

Unit 8: Natural health
Listening tasks
1 Reflexology
2 Staying healthy
Speaking A day at my spa : Designing a spa schedule
Pronunciation
Intonation of thought groups
Expansion 2: Ireland: Information and an authentic student interview

Unit 9: Science trivia
Listening tasks
1 Fact or fiction?
2 The northern lights
Speaking Trivia game : Playing a trivia game
Pronunciation /th/ sounds

Unit 10: Advertising
Listening tasks
1 What's in a name?
2 Lost in translation
Speaking It's a great product : Creating a script for a TV or radio ad
Pronunciation
Vowel sounds followed by r

Unit 11: Study abroad
Listening tasks
1 A place to live
2 Choosing a school
Speaking The perfect school : Designing a brochure for an English school
Pronunciation Intonation of tag questions

Unit 12: How things work
Listening tasks
1 Electronic devices
2 How a vending machine works
Speaking Here are the steps! : Describing how things work
Pronunciation
Reduction of is and are in rapid speech
Expansion 3: Brazil: Information and an authentic student interview

Unit 13: Personality traits
Listening tasks
1 It's in my blood
2 The Chinese zodiac
Speaking My personality traits : Sharing personality traits
Pronunciation Stressed syllables

Unit 14: Values
Listening tasks
1 Difficult decisions
2 Who's right?
Speaking Values game : Playing a board game
Pronunciation
Unreleased p, b, t, d, k, and g when followed by another consonant

Unit 15: Good business
Listening tasks
1 The secret to success
2 A success story
Speaking
Company principles : Creating a company's guiding business principles
Pronunciation
Reduction of to

Unit 16 Unsolved mysteries
Listening tasks
1 Strange stories
2 Crop circles
Speaking Believe it or not! : Creating a TV news story about a mysterious event
Pronunciation
Emphasis of transition expressions
Expansion 4: The Philippines: Information and an authentic student interview