Conversation Strategies: An Interactive Student Book for Pairs and Groups

Conversation Strategies, now in its 4th edition (2026), builds students' abilities to confidently engage in active conversation in English. Each unit provides the language and interactive practice necessary for high-beginner to low-intermediate students in English to develop core oral communication skills, such as politely interrupting, signaling misunderstanding, confirming comprehension, asking follow-up questions, and agreeing and disagreeing.

Features of this New Edition:

• Completely redesigned units, with clearer layouts and more white space
• Updated content, including newly added units and practice activities
• New cartoons and other art
• New downloadable Teacher's Guide for instructional support and classroom use

Table of ContentsPart 1 - Strategy: Showing You Are Interested

• Unit 1 - Giving Reactions
• Unit 2 - Asking Follow-Up Questions
• Unit 3 - Giving Reactions and Asking Follow-Up Questions

Part 2 - Strategy: Asking Questions to Clarify

• Unit 4 - Asking Confirmation Questions
• Unit 5 - Asking for Clarification with Question Words
• Unit 6 - Asking Questions to Confirm and Clarify

Part 3 - Strategy: Showing That You Understand

• Unit 7 - Showing Empathy
• Unit 8 - Summarizing What Someone Has Told You
• Unit 9 - Showing Empathy and Summarizing During a Discussion

Part 4 - Strategies: Getting More Information

• Unit 10 - Asking for More Details
• Unit 11 - Giving Descriptions
• Unit 12 - Asking For and Giving More Details

Part 5 - Strategies: Keeping a Conversation Going

• Unit 13 - Keeping or Killing the Conversation
• Unit 14 - Responding With Details
• Unit 15 - Keeping a Conversation Going and Responding with Details

Part 6 - Strategy: Interacting Politely

• Unit 16 - Interrupting Someone Politely
• Unit 17 - Correcting Someone Politely
• Unit 18 - Making Requests and Giving Responses and Excuses
• Unit 19 - Beginning and Ending a Formal Phone Call

Part 7 - Strategy: Interacting More Deeply

• Unit 20 - Expressing Opinions
• Unit 21 - Confirming Your Listener's Understanding

Part 8 - Strategy: Sharing Information with Others

• Unit 22 - Starting and Ending a Conversation
• Unit 23 - Asking for Advice
• Unit 24 - Reporting What Someone Has Told You

Part 9 - Strategy: Participating in a Group

• Unit 25 - Volunteering an Answer
• Unit 26 - Leading a Discussion
• Unit 27 - Making a Group Decision