14 Reasons why Breakthrough Plus is the

perfect match for communication classes

#1. Authentic, natural language

Model conversations in each unit

present authentic and natural

language. Unlike some textbooks,

which use stiff and outdated

language that we rarely hear in

everyday life, Breakthrough Plus

provides useful language that

students can immediately

incorporate into their own

conversations with foreign friends

and colleagues.

#2. Clear and simple grammar

It can be time consuming for teachers to write up grammar explanations on a whiteboard and make questions to practice grammar points before or during each class. Teachers can save time on this task by using the clear and simple grammar reference section at the back of Breakthrough Plus. There are several concise examples and practice questions for each grammar point.

#3. Attractive visual aids

New vocabulary in Breakthrough

Plus is introduced with the help

of vibrant and descriptive

photographs. These visual aids

help students to quickly

understand new words and also

assist them in recalling the words

later. Breakthrough Plus makes

use of many colorful images that

will grab the attention of students

and keep classroom interest

levels high.

#4. Confidence building pair work

Japanese students generally are very worried about making mistakes in front of their peers. Students often avoid attempting activities because of a fear of failure. In the Exchange section of Breakthrough Plus, students take part in highly controlled pair speaking practice. All of the information pairs need to complete the task can be found in the book. This allows students to practice speaking without having to worry about making a mistake or having to create their own conversations from scratch, which they may feel would be judged by others.

#5. Structured creativity

“Right class, I want you to think of a story for the next five minutes and then read it out to everyone!”

The above unstructured task is likely to instill fear into the most outgoing student.

On the contrary, the Language in action section of Breakthrough Plus gradually encourages students to explore their creativity in spoken English through structured activities that practice grammar and vocabulary taught earlier in the unit. These tasks will allow for further pair work and will give students a strong sense of progress and achievement.

#6. Varied accents

There are now approximately three

times as many non-native English

speakers in the world as there are

native English speakers. Japanese

English speakers are far more likely to

find themselves speaking to a non-

native English speaker than someone,

for example, from England.

Breakthrough Plus listening activities

use a variety of native and non-native

accents that allow students to learn

at an early stage that not all English

will be spoken to them in polished

native accents.

#7. Fun surveys & questionnaires

The final activity in the core part of

each unit in Breakthrough Plus brings

together all the language covered in

the unit in the form of either a survey

or questionnaire. These fun activities

give teachers a good opportunity to

set up group work and also for

students to share information about

themselves with one and other in

semi-controlled practice. These are

great tasks for getting the focus away

from the teacher and increasing the

amount of student to student

interaction, in English of course!

#8. Syllabus flexibility

Whilst speaking and listening practice is at the very core of Breakthrough Plus, the Expansion section of each unit provides two pages of activities that include reading and writing practice as well as further vocabulary and listening activities.

The Expansion section allows teachers to be flexible with what they teach in class. Having the option of changing the type of activity offered in a class keeps student interest levels high and can give students a break from speaking practice without having a break from English altogether.

#9. Guided speaking practice activities

At the back of Breakthrough Plus

text books there is a

Communication activity section.

These activities give students an

opportunity to start to produce the

studied language for themselves. By

using the language in these pair

activities, students will gradually

get more comfortable with the

grammar and vocabulary through

repeated speaking and listening

practice.

#10. Review, review, review

It is good for students to be learning new language each week but it is also helpful to review this language at regular intervals. By doing so, teachers can see if and where any weak points exist in their students’ English. Breakthrough Plus has four review units in each level which cover speaking, listening and language. Frequent and regular review will build confidence and help to correct small fundamental mistakes that could hamper progress in the future.

#11. Digibook

The Breakthrough Plus Digibook is an online tool that all students receive an access code for attached to their text book.

The Digibook includes a page faithful interactive digital version of the text book, videos and accompanying worksheets, as well as over 120 extra practice activities, where progress can be monitored by the teacher.

The teacher’s book Digibook also includes photocopiable activities and a large selection of tests.

#12. Video activities

Each unit in Breakthrough Plus has

one semi-scripted street interview

video filmed on location in New

York City. The videos all have

accompanying work sheets that can

be printed out and handed to

students.

Students will enjoy breaking up a

class with a video watching activity

and will benefit not only from

listening to but also watching

realistic conversations take place.

#13. Online practice activities

Extra online practice activities found in the Breakthrough Plus Digibook are great either for homework or for students to carry out self study in their time outside of the classroom.

For each hour spent in a classroom studying, students should be spending one or more hours per day studying on their own outside of the classroom to make good progress. The Digibook extra practice activities allow them to do this self study through computer marked tasks relevant to the language they have learned during their classes. Teachers can monitor students’ progress through the Markbook tool.

#14. Test Generator

At certain points in every course it

is necessary to test students to see

how they are progressing.

Producing tests in not an easy nor

quick task. The Breakthrough Plus

Teacher’s Book comes with a Test

generator CD-ROM that will save

teachers time and allow them to

flexibly produce tests for each unit,

progress tests for every three units

and also an end-of-course test. All

test answer keys can be found in

the teacher’s book.