"Four-skills American English course with a communicative methodology, engaging texts, and a strong pronunciation syllabus - designed to get students speaking.

With texts and topics that make learners want to speak, American English File is the course that gets students talking.

It gives you full skills coverage with a clear focus on pronunciation, plus wide-ranging support and resources too."
(Publisher's website)

CONTENTS

UNIT 1:

A. Who's who?
Grammar: word order in questions
Vocabulary: common verb phrases, classroom language
Pronunciation: vowels sounds, the alphabet

B. Who knows you better? Grammar: simple present
Vocabulary: family, personality adjectives
Pronunciation: third person and plural -s

C. A the Moulin Rouge
Grammar: present continuous
Vocabulary: the body, prepositions of place
Pronunciation: vowel sounds

D. The Devil's Dictionary
Grammar: defining relative clauses (a person who..., a thing that...)
Vocabulary: expressions for paraphrasing: like , for example , etc
Pronunciation: pronunciation in a dictionary

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
At the airport

WRITING Describing yourself

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 2:

A. Right place, wrong time
Grammar: simple past: regular and irregular verbs
Vocabulary: vacations
Pronunciation: -ed endings, irregular verbs

B. A moment in time.
Grammar: past continuous
Vocabulary: prepositions of time and place: at, in, on
Pronunciation: /ə/ and /ər/

C. Fifty years of pop music
Grammar: questions with and without auxiliaries
Vocabulary: question words, pop music
Pronunciation: /w/ and /h/

D. One October evening
Grammar: so, because, but, although
Vocabulary: verb phrases
Pronunciation: the letter a

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
At the conference hotel

WRITING
The story behind the photo

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 3:

A. Where are you going?
Grammar: going to, present continuous (future arrangements)
Vocabulary: look (for, through, etc.)
Pronunciation: sentence stress

B. The pessimist's phrase book
Grammar: will/won't (predictions)
Vocabulary: opposite verbs
Pronunciation: contractions (will/won't), /a/ and /oʊ/

C. I'll always love you
Grammar: will/won't (promises, offers, decisions)
Vocabulary: verb + back
Pronunciation: word stress: two-syllable words

D. I was only dreaming Grammar: review of tenses: present, past and future
Vocabulary: verbs + prepositions
Pronunciation: sentence stress

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
Restaurant problems

WRITING
An informal letter

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 4:

A. From rags to riches
Grammar: present perfect (experience) + ever, never, present perfect or simple past?
Vocabulary: clothes
Pronunciation: vowel sounds

B. Family conflicts
Grammar: present perfect + yet and already
Vocabulary: verb phrases
Pronunciation: /h/, /y/ and /dʒ /

C. Faster, faster!
Grammar: comparatives, as...as/less...than
Vocabulary: time expressions: spend time, waste time, etc.
Pronunciation: sentence stress

D. The world's friendliest city
Grammar: superlatives (+ ever + present perfect)
Vocabulary: opposite adjectives
Pronunciation: word stress

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
Lost in San Francisco

WRITING
Describing where you live

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 5:

A. Are you a party animal?
Grammar: uses of the infinitive
Vocabulary: verbs + infinitive
Pronunciation: word stress

B. What makes you feel good?
Grammar: uses of the -ing form
Vocabulary: verbs followed by -ing
Pronunciation: /ɳ/

C. How much can you learn in a month?
Grammar: have to, don't have to, must, must not, can't
Vocabulary: modifiers: a little (bit), extremely, fairly, really, etc.
Pronunciation: sentence stress

D. The name of the game
Grammar: expressing movement
Vocabulary: Prepositions of movement, sports
Pronunciation: prepositions

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
At the department store

WRITING
A formal e-mail

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 6:

A. If something bad can happen, it will
Grammar: if + present; will + base form (first conditional)
Vocabulary: confusing verbs
Pronunciation: vowels

B. Never smile at a crocodile
Grammar: if + past; would + base form (second conditional)
Vocabulary: animals
Pronunciation: stress and rhythm

C. Decisions, decisions
Grammar: may/might (possibility)
Vocabulary: word building: noun formation
Pronunciation: sentence stress, -ion endings

D. What I should do?
Grammar: should/shouldn't
Vocabulary: get
Pronunciation: /ʊ/, sentence stress

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
At the pharmacy

WRITING
Writing to a friend

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 7:

A. Famous fears and phobias
Grammar: present perfect + for and since
Vocabulary: words related to fear
Pronunciation: /ɪ/ and /aɪ/, sentence stress

B. Born to direct
Grammar: present perfect or simple past?
Vocabulary: biographies
Pronunciation: sentence stress (used to / didn't use to)

C. I used to be a rebel
Grammar: used to
Vocabulary: school subjects: history, geography, etc.
Pronunciation: sentence stress used to / didn't use to

D. The mothers of invention
Grammar: passive
Vocabulary: verbs: invent, discover, etc.
Pronunciation: -ed, sentence stress

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
A boat trip

WRITING
Describing a building

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 8:

A. I hate weekends!
Grammar: something, anything, nothing, etc.
Vocabulary: adjectives ending in -ed and -ing
Pronunciation: /ɛ/, /oʊ/, and /ʌ/

B. How old is your body? Grammar: quantifiers, too, not enough
Vocabulary: health and lifestyle: use sunscreen, etc.
Pronunciation: /ʌ/, /u/, /aɪ/, /ɛ/; linking

C. Waking up is hard to do?
Grammar: word order of phrasal verbs
Vocabulary: phrasal verbs
Pronunciation: /g/ and/ dʒ/

D. "I'm Jim." "So am I."
Grammar: so/neither + auxiliaries
Vocabulary: similarities
Pronunciation: vowel and consonant sounds, sentence stress

PRACTICAL ENGLISH
On the phone

WRITING
Giving your opinion

REVIEW & CHECK
What do you remember? What can you do?

UNIT 9:

A. What a week!
Grammar: past perfect
Vocabulary: adverbs: suddenly, immediately, etc.
Pronunciation: review of vowel sounds, sentence stress

B. Then kissed me
Grammar: reported speech
Vocabulary: say, tell, or ask?
Pronunciation: rhyming verbs

Grammar
Quick grammar check for each File

Vocabulary, Pronunciation
Quick check of vocabulary, sounds, and word stress

Communication

Audioscripts

Grammar Bank

Vocabulary Bank

Sound Bank