At last! Fans of Issues in English have had to wait eight years for the publication of the second volume , and I'm happy to say it's been worth the wait. Like the first program, Issues 2 is organised around eight real-world issues: Education, Fame, Immigration, Languages, Media, Sport, Technology and Wilderness. Plenty to get your teeth into, and none of the more contentious topics, such as gambling and euthanasia, that made the first volume unusable in certain cultural contexts.

Each topic includes activities at four levels, based around video dialogues. The range of language level is illustrated in the Immigration videos. At level 1, Ali tells Shen in simple (but not stilted) English how he came to Australia. Shen reciprocates with the story of his parents' arrival in the country. Meanwhile, at level 4 we watch an authentic interview of the President of Portugal discussing the immigration challenges facing the EU.

The tasks that follow are well judged for the language level. Each level of each topic has listening, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and writing tasks, and because of the nature of the topics it would be very easy for the teacher to integrate speaking activities. The exercises are interactive with a good variety of reinforcement messages from the program.

Issues in English 2 has a colourful and attractive interface, is easy and intuitive to use, and provides a wealth of interesting and provocative material. It should prove a huge success.