Conversation Strategies, 4th ed.

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

Across the book, students learn and practice key conversation strategies such as getting more information, making comparisons, correcting someone politely, agreeing and disagreeing, summarizing, sharing information, and making decisions. They also develop essential interactional skills, including using polite forms, rejoinders, clarifications, follow-up questions, expressions of probability, and appropriate interruption—while learning how to avoid common “conversation killers.”

The book includes 29 pair and group activities that are engaging, student-centered, and carefully scaffolded. Activities move from controlled language practice to open-ended, imaginative exchanges, helping learners build confidence and communicative flexibility. Now in its 4th edition, Conversation Strategies equips students with the language and interactive practice needed to participate actively and effectively in everyday conversations, from signaling misunderstanding and confirming comprehension to politely interrupting and expressing agreement or disagreement.