The Perfect "Real-English" book..???

English-coach wrote:Does this even exist? I had a student ask me for a recommendation for a "real-life" English book, not just a grammar book and I really had no idea.

Unless I wrote my own (considering it!) I have not come across any books that teach "real" English...like English in the streets or for real situations.

Do any of you have any recommendations? Have you found any books that do exactly this?

I'd love to hear what books you recommend.

Cheers,
Diana

You're going to kill me for saying this, maybe, but, there is no "real" English book. It really all depends on what the student wants to accomplish. There are so many factors that go into a decision like that:

What type of vernacular the student wants, the purpose of the English (i.e. for business, for travel, etc.). The student's question would be better answered if s/he could give more information on what they thought was "real" English.

I think you are absolutly right. I think people need to learn to ask the right questions (myself included).

There are so many forms and purposes for English, there is not one "real-English". Maybe that is why people have such a hard time learning English sometimes, because they don't know exactly what it is they want to learn.

Hmmmm...interesting!