Stephen Thewlis (2000)

Grammar Dimensions Book Three: Form, Meaning, and Use

Platinum edition. Boston: Heinle & Heinle 
Reviewed by Nancy Mayer

Grammar Dimensions Book Three is an intermediate to high intermediate level text that focuses on communicative grammar practice. Each chapter begins with an "Opening Task" that involves group work and leads the students to use grammar structures that are explained in the chapter. For example, Unit 10 “Comparatives” begins with charts that include statistical information about four countries. This opening task requires students to work in small groups to discuss similarities and differences among the countries based on the information provided. The theme of comparing information about countries is repeated in the “Focus” charts that explain the form and meaning of comparisons and in the practices that follow. Each chapter in the text ends with a variety of communicative activities called “Use Your English.” In Unit 10 “Comparatives,” these activities include discussing the differences about people from different cultures, giving an oral presentation about two people who are similar, and listening to a conversation between two students about an anthropology class.

An advantage of using this text is the variety of exercises found in each unit. These exercises include reflecting on the meaning of the grammar topics and using them in oral and written practices. There are fill-in-the blank and sentence-level writing and editing exercises. Another advantage of using this book is the text support. The Teacher's Edition of Grammar Dimensions Book Three offers suggestions for presenting the grammar structures and tests for each unit. The series also includes a workbook, which offers supplementary exercises for each grammar topic and TOEFL-style practices; an audiocassette; and the CD Grammar Dimensions, with four levels of exercises on various grammar topics. 

One thing to keep in mind if you plan to use this book is that it relies on the other books in the series. You may find, for example, that Units 1 and 2 in this book offer a good review of time, tense, and aspect in regards to the English verb system for students who have studied Grammar Dimensions Book Two. However, it may be confusing for most intermediate students to understand all of this information without breaking it into smaller units. In addition, students may not understand the difference between simple tenses “at that time” and progressive tenses “in progress during that time” without more detailed explanations and examples. For this reason, you may want to present Units 13, 14, 15, and 23, which offer more detailed information on the verb tenses, earlier if your students need this information before grappling with adverbial clauses in every imaginable verb tense in Unit 3.  

The amount and variety of material presented in this text make Grammar Dimensions Book Three a good choice for an intensive ESL program. The communicative tasks and activities offer students an opportunity to use various grammar structures orally and in writing. On the other hand, a class that meets for only a few periods a week might find the format frustrating, mainly due to a lack of time to pursue the communicative activities that form the basis of this text.  

Nancy Mayer is a lecturer of English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and adjunct faculty of English as a Second Language at Washington University in St. Louis. She may be contacted at nmayer@umsl.edu.

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