The book is mostly a reference for listening and reading activities with just a few speaking activities. It is however, a good tool for the advanced student who wants to sharpen their skills to their utmost potential.
When texts reach an advanced level, it’s almost like the book companies think, “What do we teach now?” That’s the feeling with Market Leader Advanced, the highest level in this series. The book is mostly a reference for listening and reading activities with just a few speaking activities. It is however, a good tool for the advanced student who wants to sharpen their skills to their utmost potential.
"The book is alright, depending on your aims as a learner. If you want to upgrade your speaking then I’d suggest looking elsewhere. But if you want to do some more classroom-style learning with group activities, reading exercises and listening practice, then this book will suit you."
Overview
The Market Leader series is one of the finest out there for its professionalism, authenticity, and presentation. This book is no exception, but doesn’t deliver as much as its predecessors. The Advanced level includes 12 units that range from general topics like training, finance, consultations, etc. Since it has different writers than the first four levels, the Advanced book has a different flow for each unit covering less information than the previous books. Each unit has a listening and discussion section, which is great for speaking practice, but I must say that some topics in the book aren’t the most appealing. Some learners may not be interested in energy or partnerships, which are quite technical and not very general for the average business student. Another flaw of the listening sections is that some excerpts can be long, and I mean extremely long. Some go over 6 minutes, which could bore the student especially since it’s usually one person doing most of the talking.
The Reading & Language segments are good since they include some in-depth articles from The Financial Times and The Guardian newspapers, which also contain an array of useful vocabulary that the advanced learner can pick up and use. The “Business Skills” and “Case Study” sections are very useful if there are many people involved, but for a solo learner, it can be dull since input is usually required to generate a discussion. One good thing about this book is that the most business savvy of learners will not be disappointed with the activities, since the content can get very challenging and in- depth. You could even make the claim that by working with this book you will go over some of the most common Business English terms, phrases, and scenarios. The language points also focus on the nitty-gritty essentials such as multiword verbs, idioms and useful phrases that probably won’t be found in a dictionary. Like all the Market Leader books, the advanced book is kept in its sleek, striking form including a stimulating layout of photos and well organized units. Unlike the other books, it has a bigger text to photo ratio, which can make it heavy on the text and put off some learners. But like all the Market Leader books, the supplementary material is ace. There are more practice exercises in the included DVD-ROM and extra listening activities are also provided. In case the student wants to improve on their vocabulary, the iGlossary is a fine addition and the videos on the Case Studies are extra helpful when wanting more information.
Pros:
•Covers technical Business English that could be useful, especially with learners who want to “learn it all”
•Great for groups since at this level speaking ability is high, and the generation of ideas could prove for a fantastic learning opportunity
•Great supplementary material in addition to the book
Cons:
•Mostly focuses on listening and reading, given the long articles and lengthy listening exercises, as opposed to the short discussion questions and Business Skills activities
•Not many language points/areas of conversation
•Some topics aren’t general enough, which may turn off some learners.
Recommended For:
•The Business student who wants to learn all that they can related to the topic of business.
•Students who prefer to listen and read as opposed to speak.
•Business people who want to challenge themselves.
Overall the book is alright, depending on your aims as a learner. If you want to upgrade your speaking then I’d suggest looking elsewhere. But if you want to do some more classroom-style learning with group activities, reading exercises and listening practice, then this book will suit you. The advanced level book covers enough to become a business savvy businessperson and still sharpen your receptive skills.
