| The
CD-Rom for the new third edition of English Grammar
in Use (the Blue |
 |
Murphy) comes in stand-alone
or network editions. The standalone CD can be purchased
with the book or as a discrete item; the network
CD is available as a 30-computer licence for institutions.
The focus of the program is a huge bank of practice activities to support the explanations and exercises in the book. So, for example, the topic of -ing and the infinitive has no fewer than 33 practice exercises beginning with a What can I practise here? section. Learners work through the exercises, which are a mixture of gapfill, multiple choice, drag and drop, proof reading, and dropdown multiple choice where questions are embedded in a text. When they complete an exercise and choose marking, a play button appears beside each answer and they can listen to the sentence being read out. The record function enabling students to repeat these sentences and listen to themselves is extremely popular with students. Another nice feature is the glossary from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary which is installed with the program. Ctrl click on any word for a definition.
At any time students can select units and set themselves a test with questions randomly drawn from the test bank. Scores for the tests, and the practice exercises, are saved for the student. The network version saves them centrally for teachers to access.
The programs works well in conjunction with the book because the feedback for each question refers learners to the relevant unit in English Grammar in Use.
The program is very slick and professional: it looks good, works smoothly and is an excellent resource for controlled grammar practice at an intermediate level. |
