In each lesson of We Mean Business the student starts off with either a reading or speaking activity with a comic-style dialogue followed by some comprehension questions. Afterwards the student will come across some boxes with grammar explanations or vocabulary lists. Near the end of each lesson there will also be some puzzles, conversation questions, and some group activities to review everything that has been worked on. The rhythm and structure of each unit is the same throughout the entire book; I feel that this will allow the student to have a smooth learning experience the whole way through.
"One thing about the book is that there aren’t too many pictures or visual examples. Some chapters are very heavy on text and this might overwhelm or even bore some students who are more visual learners."
We Mean Business is made for elementary and perhaps even pre-intermediate level students. Throughout the book’s 15 units students will focus on exercises which work with business letters, meetings, interviews, workplace problems and other related topics. Each unit comes with a variety of activities that help students work on all four language skills. Every unit starts with a comic style reading exercise followed by vocabulary lists and quizzes, grammar activities, occasional reading exercise and some pair work to finish off. The grammar exercises are rather simple and they usually focus on things like verb tenses, adverbs, reported speech, and comparatives/superlatives. One thing about the book is that there aren’t too many pictures or visual examples. Some chapters are very heavy on text and this might overwhelm or even bore some students who are more visual learners. Nonetheless, this book works perfectly for large, group classes since it has many group exercises and role play activities.
Pros:
· Good structure and flow for each chapter.
· The role play activities are fun to work with and they focus on real life language skills.
· Plenty of practice and review activities to help students absorb the information in the book.
· The language boxes in each unit are easy to follow and help students understand difficult grammar structures.
Cons:
· Too much text and not enough images.
· Since this book is so heavy on text, it may bore or overwhelm students.
· Slightly outdated.
Recommended For:
· Elementary level students who want to prepare themselves for the pre-intermediate level.
· Elementary level students who work for international companies and need to develop their English skills.
· Teachers who need material for their group lessons.
We Mean Business is a great book to help students with their business English skills. The activities are enjoyable and the book has a good flow unit after unit. Despite being a text heavy course book, nothing in the book will come off as irrelevant or too challenging for learners. I would highly recommend this book to teachers giving group classes to working adults or teaching in companies.
