The Issues: Listening and Critical Thinking Skills Series

Each of the twelve units is based on an authentic radio broadcast taken from National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition." By using material produced for native speakers, students are presented with unedited everyday speech, including hesitations, redundancies, and various dialectical patterns. Exercises develop essential listening strategies such as predicting, looking at language, understanding main ideas and points of view, and focusing on details.

The Issues Series Audio Program provides the audio for all listening exercises. This academic listening and speaking series uses original National Public Radio broadcasts to provide a context for listening comprehension and discussion. As students develop listening strategies and critical thinking skills, they also learn to integrate grammar and vocabulary activities into their everyday speech and writing.

Consists of ten authentic radio commentaries from National Public Radio, and articles or essays excerpted from a variety of magazines, journals, and newspapers. Designed for very advanced students of English as a Second Language, the program presents an integrated skills approach to developing critical thinking skills.