The second edition of the highly acclaimed American Accent Training, now on 5 audio CDs, is for foreign-born students and business people working, traveling or studying in the United States and Canada. Through extensive intonation and pronunciation exercises, students learn how to speak with a standard American Accent. At the same time, listening comprehension improves dramatically. Supplementary materials included detailed nationality guides for eight languages (Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Korean), access to a comprehensive website, and referral to a qualified telephone analyst for an individual diagnostic speech analysis. Also included are colored markers for written exercises, and a mirror to practice accurate pronunciation.

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, Tenth Edition

“Designed to answer the most pressing grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usage questions . . . In this revised and updated tenth edition of her best-selling book, Jane Straus adds a new section on Confusing Words and Homonyms with hundreds of the trickiest words defined and explained. Hailed as ‘a masterpiece of clarity and usefulness.’”
—From the Foreword by Mignon Fogarty, creator of the Grammar Girl podcast

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is filled with easy-to-understand rules,real-world examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre- and post-tests.

This handy workbook is ideal for teachers, students in middle school through college, ESL students, homeschoolers, and professionals. Valuable for anyone who takes tests or writes reports, letters, Web pages, e-mails, or blogs, The Blue Book offers instant answers to everyday English usage questions.

Praise for Jane Straus and The Blue Book

“Clearly presented so that you can easily find the informationyou’re looking for. This is great for students or for anyone who has troubleremembering the rules of grammar and punctuation.”
—Kate Russell, BBC World/ClickOnline

“Never has there been such a well-arranged, easily navigatedguidebook as this. It is perfect for the homeschool family. One of the mostpractical, useable, beneficial resources, it doubles both as a quick referenceguide and student workbook (with answers in the back)!”
—The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

“Grammarians and citizens, I invite you to raise a glass to Jane Straus. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is one-stop shopping for comprehensive grammar and style rules and is as charming as it is useful. I can’t imagine one person whose writing wouldn’t benefit enormously from reading this book.”
—Kate McCulley, The Grammar Vandal, www.thegrammarvandal.com

A three-book series, Vocabulary Power:

teaches the most important words from the General Service List (500 words) and Academic Word List (400 words)
presents each word in eight different contexts to help students learn and remember the word easily
encourages students to apply the words to their own lives, making vocabulary more relevant and useful
can be used in class or as a self-study text
Each Vocabulary Power book features:

300 new words — 10 per chapter
high-interest readings adapted from articles on a variety of up-to-date topics
exercises on word families, multiple meanings, collocations, and expressions that expand students’ knowledge of the words
engaging discussion questions and writing topics that elicit natural use of the words
quizzes to check students’ progress and minimize teacher prep time
Word Builder exercises and charts in the Appendix to help students focus on the meaning and use of word parts
The Vocabulary Power series includes Vocabulary Power 1 (Low Intermediate), Vocabulary Power 2 (Intermediate), and Vocabulary Power 3 (Advanced).

With more than 200 new entries, this updated edition boasts almost 2,000 common phrases and colloquial expressions used in contemporary American English. From greetings and good-byes to everyday small talk, each entry is presented in a realistic context. Special attention to the needs of nonnative speakers includes usage restrictions and cautions as well as a phrase-finder index for on-the-spot reference. An essential dictionary for all students of English who want to know the most common expressions in American speech today.