Review - Market Leader Upper Student's Book

Criterion

Grade: 5/4/3/2/1

Comments (5 being the highest grade and 1 the lowest)

Originality

4

From the thrusting boast of its title to the bold choice of a black cover, Market Leader confidently establishes its identity. The coursebook attempts a serious yet engaging tone and has a balanced, varied content in order to appeal to learners considering careers in business in the future, in addition to learners already working. ‘Authentic’ texts are used for many reading and listening activities with the Financial Times often used as a source to boost the coursebook’s business credentials. The use of ‘authentic’ texts, rather than, for example, creating simplified reading texts for learners or using actors for the audio, challenges learners to try to deal with something similar to what they might hear outside the classroom, which is intended to be a motivating and meaningful experience for them. (Let’s hope it doesn’t destroy their confidence!)

One of the most successful sections in Market Leader is the ‘Case Study’ to be found at the end of each unit. Learners are presented with information concerning a situation related to the topic of the unit, they then have a task to discuss and complete in small groups, examples include: devising a commercial, preparing for and role-playing a meeting or negotiating a deal. One example is from the unit on Finance (p88/89). Learners have to read about two filmmakers who are attempting to get finance for their low-budget film. The lesson gradually builds to a task where students assume the roles of the filmmakers and potential investors and try to reach an agreement. There are optional follow-up activities to the Case Study including a related writing task and there is also an interesting commentary on the DVD-Rom - included with the Students’ book - where an ‘expert’ discusses the case study.

Each unit also contains another business roleplay where learners study and practise functional language related to skills such as negotiating, cold-calling and brainstorming. The key language is presented in a listening task and then clearly displayed in a ‘Useful Language’ box (which presumably doesn’t mean that some of the language taught in the book isn’t useful) before learners attempt the roleplay. These lessons are well structured and cover a wide range of skills. Only occasionally does the language presented feel unnatural and unlikely. For example I cringed slightly thinking about someone actually saying the following suggested phrase for ‘Establishing Common interests’ when networking and meeting a business associate for the first time:

“We have something in common. We’re both interested in…” (p27)

(It sounds so desperate – would your listener not start edging slowly away?)

Practicality

5

The flexibility of the Market Leader course is a real bonus for a teacher as it allows them to be able to adapt the material depending on the needs of the learners. There are video versions on the DVD-ROM of the audio used with the main listening lessons in the coursebook, which learners may find more engaging or easier (subtitles can also be added if necessary). The Teacher’s book contains banks of optional extra resources that cover the main skills, many of which could be used either for self-study or in class. There is also, a Test Master CD-ROM included with the Teacher’s Book so the teacher can modify the tests that review the language studied throughout the course specifically for their class.

Each unit begins with a carefully crafted, lively lead-in to coax learners towards the topic.  Many of these engaging tasks could equally find a home in a general English coursebook and have a wide appeal (you don’t feel that you need to be wearing a suit jacket). They often raise cultural awareness issues too, for example:

What are the best indicators of an individual’s level of success?

How important are the following in your culture?

exotic holidays       cosmetic surgery       chauffeur-driven car (s)

designer clothes    expensive jewellery  mixing with famous people

pedigree pets         luxury home(s)           exclusive club membership

trophy partner       domestic help            having your name in the media (p36)

In addition to the 12 units there are also four ‘Working Across Cultures’ sections that develop cultural awareness and the skills needed to work in an international, intercultural environment. On page 90, for example, the focus is on managing international teams and on crucial issues such as how different cultures perceive and respond to a ‘team leader’. There is a cross cultural thread going through the course which could make the material particularly rich in a class of mixed nationalities.

Presentation

4

The design and layout of the book, with its conservative use of colour and images, suggests a no-nonsense seriousness and ‘let’s get down to business’ approach. This is in contrast to some business English courses that aim instead for a ‘business lite’ design to tempt students on general English courses or teachers with a fear of being exposed as a teacher rather than some sort of Alan Sugar figure.

Compared to many other English language coursebooks, I would say the choice of photos is slightly unimaginative. Look at page 13 and the image of a phone next to the task instructions for listening to a ‘phonecall or the photo of a camera near a text where digital cameras are mentioned. Some of the photos of the people being interviewed for the listening tasks are amateurishly dark (try and see Tom on page 38 if you can make him out).

The DVD-Rom is sensibly kept simple and easy-to-use and is an excellent additional component, which adds weight and substance to the coursebook.

Overall rating

4.5

What outstanding strengths/ weaknesses do you feel this title possesses?

Strengths

• Flexibility of the material - meaning the course can be adapted for different learners and contexts
• Authentic and challenging listening and reading texts
• Stimulating ‘real world’ simulations and role-plays using ‘useful language’
• Focus on developing cross-cultural awareness
• Video versions of listening texts and video commentaries discussing case studies

Weaknesses

• Some reading texts that refer to technology will seem dated soon (if not already - p9)
• Visually the coursebook can feel uninspired and convey an old-fashioned sense of what ‘business’ is
• The majority of the interviews used for the main listening lessons are with men (women ‘experts’ are severely under-represented)

Other comments

Additional Components not included with Student’s or Teacher’s book:

1. Test File – includes 6 tests

2. Self-study workbook

3. Vocabulary Trainer (online)

4. Active Teach – software for interactive whiteboards

5. Market Leader website (subscription needed) includes extra resources for teachers