ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS THAT SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. ACTUALLY USE

ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS THAT SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. ACTUALLY USE

You’ve been told to learn English in English, but you find your bookshelf full of bilingual textbooks. So what textbooks are you supposed to get? We’ll tell you

You’ve heard it.

If you want to learn English, then learn in English.

If you don’t know the most basic of the words in English, then reading sentences in English can be pretty hard. We won’t blame you if you decide to memorize a few words by translating them into your own language. But once you’re at the level where you’re already understanding about a half or more of this article or any other article on American Lifestyle, it might be about time for you to consider studying English in English.

There’s nothing wrong with learning English through translation or understanding concepts especially when you’re just starting to learn it, but if you’re creating a habit of constantly translating English into your own language when you already understand grammar rules and know a vast range of complex vocabularies, then you may be taking extra time to process even the easiest of the conversations. Once you come to the US, even language schools will teach only in English which makes sense if you think of it because you’ll be sitting in a classroom with people from across the world. We’ll be surprised if all English teachers could teach English in all the languages that the students of different nationalities speak.

Bookstores in your home country will more often display textbooks that were published in your home country, so we won’t be alarmed if you purchase plenty of English textbooks that have bilingual contents. We know how difficult it can be to find textbooks that explains English in natural American English when you’re outside the U.S., so we’ve done all the job for you. We’ve had ties with English language schools across the nation from New York to Los Angeles, and we’ve seen what textbooks they use. We’ll introduce the major textbooks that English schools across the U.S. uses in their classrooms. Here we go.

Focus on Grammar & Focus on Writing

Focus on Grammar is a series of textbooks from levels 1 to 5. The collection of their books is used very commonly at English language schools across the United States from independent schools to major institutions.

Level 1 starts with understanding simple sentence structures in English. The first pages will start by covering  the most basic subject + verb + object form and sketches to understand the most basic words such as “listen,” “read,” “refrigerator,” and “apple.” Level 1 is essential to English speakers as well if you happen to make grammar mistakes such as mixing up prepositions such as in, on, at or use the wrong form of verbs like using the simple form instead of simple past when speaking.

Even if you understand the concept in your own language, if you have never learned basic English in English, we would say start at Level 1. What may seem extremely simple is not necessarily so if you’ve built your foundation from a language that’s not English.

We recommend the most advanced Level 5 for English learners who may have a decent knowledge in vocabulary but haven’t quite understood forming natural sentences.

If you’re prone to making awkward sentences like

“Today, it is the computer that is burdensome to use instead of the facsimile machine in the office.”

instead of a more commonly used

“The computer is being difficult today.”

then the Level 5 should help you out big time.All of the textbooks in this series come with an attached audio whether they are CDs or downloadable versions which is a huge plus.

While reading explanations of advanced grammar in your native language may help you understand the logic and concepts, you should definitely be reading more explanations in English well before you are at this level. As there is not always a direct translation to what you want to say, starting to read in English at an earlier stage will help you significantly in the long run.

We recommend you to register for the U.S. version of Amazon if you don’t have an account already. Books printed in the U.S. are sold the cheapest in the U.S. and often times, you would save money even when including international shipping. We’ve done the hard work and found the best deals on Amazon. You’re welcome.