Overview
Platform: |
VHS Video Player or DVD |
Available Languages: |
American English, Spanish-English, Chinese-English |
Levels: |
Beginner, Intermediate |
Methodology: |
Communicative Method, Bilingual Method |
Scope: |
Listening, Speaking, Reading Writing |
Contents: |
Video Cassettes (or DVD), Audio Cassettes, Workbook, Teacher's Manual |
Weight: |
15 pounds |
About American Scenes Video Series
American Scenes video series focuses on:
- Practical Settings--Seven thematic areas including
travel, housing, university life, emergency situations, everyday activities,
and social settings. These areas provide more than 300 important vocabulary
words as well as useful how to information.
- Structures--While language is natural, episodes
nevertheless reinforce a wide variety of grammatical structures. Special
emphasis is on contrasting present with present continuous, past with
past continuous, and past with present perfect. Other concepts include
comparative and superlative forms, conditional forms, past modals,
infinitives, participles, and the passive voice.
- Functions--The characters in the skits use language
functions in various contexts and in different registers. There are
more than 30 language functions covered in the 33 episodes.
- Idioms--Since there is great emphasis put on spoken
American English, there are more than 250 common idioms and expressions
in the series. As often as possible idioms are presented in a context
so that student can readily discern their meaning.
The Seven Programs in American Scenes
 Program
1: Getting Around
Theme: Travel
Grammar Focus: Present / present continuous / past tenses
1. Buying a ticket (airport setting)
2. Checking in (airport setting)
3. Making a reservation by phone (home & office setting)
4. Renting a car (car rental office)
5. Taking a cab (street setting)
6. Making a bus reservation (home & office setting)
Program length: 73 minutes
Program 2: Home Sweet Home
Theme: Housing
Grammar Focus: Present perfect / present perfect continuous tenses
1. Paying household bills (home setting)
2. Looking for an apartment in classified ads (home setting)
3. Checking out an apartment (apartment setting)
4. Making complaints about apartment services (apartment setting)
5. Dealing with home repairs / utility problems (apartment setting)
Program length: 76 minutes
 Program
3: Eat to your Heart's Content
Theme: Food
Grammar Focus: Past perfect / comparative & superlative forms
1. Buying delicatessen items (supermarket setting)
2. Returning spoiled merchandise (supermarket setting)
3. Ordering food (restaurant setting)
4. Ordering food, checking for errors on bill (restaurant)
Program length: 50 minutes
Program 4: Hitting the Books
Theme: University Life
Grammar Focus: Conditional forms
1. Changing one's major (counselor's office setting)
2. Receiving credit for study abroad (campus setting)
3. Transferring to another school (counselor's office)
4. Receiving advice about job possibilities (counselor's office)
5. Requesting use of library computer / doing research (library)
Program length: 55 minutes
 Program
5: An Ounce of Prevention
Theme: Emergency Situations
Grammar Focus: Past modals
1. Reporting a stolen car (police station & street setting)
2. Reporting a break-in (home setting)
3. Reporting symptoms / medical check up (hospital setting)
4. Checking into an emergency room (hospital setting)
Program length: 50 minutes
Program 6: Getting Along
Theme: Everyday Living
Grammar Focus: Gerunds & Infinitives
1. Mailing letters & packages (office setting)
2. Opening a bank account (bank setting)
3. Buying clothing (boutique setting)
4. Returning merchandise (home setting)
Program length: 45 minutes
 Program
7: Out on the Town
Theme: Social Settings
Grammar Focus: Passive voice / Subjunctive
1. Making & accepting invitations (home setting)
2. Using the telephone-formal conversation (home setting)
3. Using the telephone-informal conversation (home setting)
4. Social amenities, part 1 (party setting)
5. Social amenities, part 2 (party setting)
Program length: 65 minutes
Comments about American Scenes
"American Scenes is of a higher quality than any ESL videotape
series I've seen . . . its well-crafted and carefully thought-out
episodes are fantastic for ESL learners."
Prof. Russell Campbell, U.C.L.A.
"The flashback technique is an interesting innovative method
. . . The language used is authentic yet controlled enough for intermediate
level students."
Jacqueline Tanner, Georgetown University
"Compared to the other videotapes . . . this was by far the
best. We appreciate the efforts taken in creating a natural environment,
showing scenes from daily life . . . using natural, colloquial speech."
Maime How, North Beach Community College Center, San Francisco,
California
"There is a richness for discussion of cultural differences
and a reinforcement of grammatical structures in a fun way."
Yale-China Association Evaluation Report
Editions Available
American Scenes: Classroom Edition
A full version of American Scenes, designed particularly for the classroom.
This edition includes:
- 7 video cassettes with 6.5 hours of programming
- 7 audio cassettes with the audio track of the video
- 1 workbook with viewing guide and wide range of exercises to be
completed before, during, and after viewing.
- 1 teacher's manual with answers to exercises, plus cultural notes,
vocabulary explanations, and videoscripts.
American Scenes: Self-Study Home Edition
A full version of American Scenes, designed particularly for self-study
use at home. This edition includes:
- 7 video cassettes with 6.5 hours of programming.
- 7 audio cassettes with the audio track of the video.
- 1 student workbook with viewing guide. Provides a wide range of
exercises to be completed before, during, and after viewing; answers
to all exercises and drills are given. Also includes cultural notes,
vocabulary explanations and videoscripts. All answers and explanations
can be easily understood by an intermediate-level student.
American Scenes: Self-Study Bilingual Full Series Edition
This is a bilingual, full version of American Scenes, designed particularly
for self-study use at home.
Languages available: Spanish-English and Chinese-English.
Coming soon: versions in Polish, Russian, Korean and
Vietnamese.
This edition includes:
- 1 introduction tape with 45-minute segment that reviews the sounds
of North American English (En español).
- 7 video cassettes with 6.5 hours of programming in English.
- 7 audio cassettes with the audio track of the video in English.
- 1 bilingual student workbook with viewing guide containing a wide
range of exercises to be completed before, during, and after viewing.
Includes answers to all exercises and drills, cultural notes, vocabulary
explanations, and videoscripts.All explanations, cultural comments,
and instructions are in Spanish, as are the videoscripts.
American Scenes: Bilingual Mini Series Edition
This is a bilingual, smaller version of American Scenes, designed particularly
for self-study use. This mini series contains 11 episodes selected from
the full version of the series.
Languages available: Spanish-English
This edition includes:
- 1 video cassette with 11 episodes selected from Getting Around,
Home Sweet Home, Eat to Your Heart's Content, An Ounce of Prevention,
Getting Along, and Out on the Town.
- 1 student workbook with viewing guide containing the answers to
both true/false and content questions asked on video as well as cultural
notes, vocabulary explanations and videoscripts. All answers and explanations
can be easily understood by an intermediate level student.
Product Demo
Screen Shots
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