English & Me
English & Me
An Integrated Skills Course Book for Undergraduates
₹562.50 ₹625.00 Save: ₹62.50 (10%)
Go to cartISBN: 9789360339920
Bind: Paperback
Year: 2025
Pages: 196
Size: 8.5 x 11 Inch
Publisher: Viva Books Originals
Sales Territory: Worldwide
Description:
Everyone has a story worth telling. Yours is shaped by your thoughts, experiences, and the people and places that matter to you. That story comes alive the moment you find the words to share it. English and Me is an integrated skills course book designed to help undergraduate learners connect the English language with their own lives. Through engaging lessons on your name, family, friendships, personality, and hometown, you’ll develop your ability to listen, read, speak, and write, while discovering your unique voice in English. Whether you’re learning to express yourself more clearly or building confidence in communication, this book will certainly support you every step of the way. Your story matters, and it begins with your words.
The authors of this book are Assistant Professors at the Department of English, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli, India.
Target Audience:
The book is for undergraduate students seeking to improve their English communication skills through real-life, relatable contexts.
Contents:
Foreword
Preface
How to Use This Course Book
Unit 1: What’s in a Name?
1. Listening
Skill • Listening for Gist
Practice • “Not Good with Names” – A TED Talk by Cynthia Win
2. Reading
Skill • Reading for Skimming
Practice • “Eli, the Equation”
3. Grammar • Nouns
4. Vocabulary • Building Vocabulary with Compound Nouns
5. Study Skill • Using Online Dictionaries
6. Speaking
Skill • Initiating Conversations (Greeting, Starting a Conversation with New People, and Introducing and Answering
an Introduction)
Practice • Introducing Oneself and Others in Conversations
7. Writing
Skill • Narrating a Personal Anecdote • Capitalisation and End Mark Punctuation
Practice • Guided Composition: The Story of My Name
Unit 2: Family Forever!
1. Listening
Skill • Predicting Topics
Practice • “Tracing Roots, Telling Stories” – A Reflective Talk
2. Reading
Skill • Scanning
Practice • “Home Lost, Family Found”
3. Grammar • Pronouns
4. Vocabulary • Words Related to Family and Relationships
5. Study Skill • Recognising Your Learning Style
6. Speaking
Skill • Talking about Your Family (Your Family Members and Relationships, Their Personalities and Your Attachment to Them, Family Routines and Special
Moments, and Challenges and Changes)
Practice • My Family
7. Writing
Skill • Narrating Events in Chronological Order • Using Punctuations in Numbers
Practice • Controlled Composition: My Family History
Unit 3: Friends Matter!
1. Listening
Skill • Listening for Main Ideas
Practice • “Nothing Is Better Than a Good Friend” – A Personal Memoir
2. Reading
Skill • Predicting
Practice • Fables about Friendship (A Jigsaw Group Activity):
(a) The Hare with Many Friends
(b) The Two Fellows and the Bear
(c) The Fox and the Stork
(d) The Four Friends and a Hunter
3. Grammar • Adjectives: Making Descriptions Matter
4. Vocabulary • Forming Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, and Adverbs Using Suffixes
5. Study Skill • Setting and Prioritising Language Learning Goals
6. Speaking
Skill • Talking about People (Describing People’s Appearance, Talking about People’s Mannerisms, Giving Your Opinion about People, and Talking about What You
Like and Dislike in a Person)
Practice • Speaking about Your Best Friend
7. Writing
Skill • Describing People (Describing What People Wear, Describing How People Move and Seem to Feel, and Describing Where People Are) • Using Commas in
Sentences
Practice • Controlled Composition: Describing People in Pictures
Unit 4: The Inner Me
1. Listening
Skill • Listening to Understand Pronunciation
Practice • “The Bare Necessities”
2. Reading
Skill • Previewing a Text
Practice • “The Surprising Benefits of Being an Introvert”
3. Grammar • Articles and Quantifiers
4. Vocabulary • Forming Words with Different Meanings Using Prefixes
5. Study Skill • Planning a Study Schedule
6. Speaking
Skill • Talking about Feelings (Asking about Feelings, and Expressing one’s Feelings)
Practice • Talking about Feelings in Different Situations
7. Writing
Skill • Describing Character Traits (Writing about What Characters Would Say or Do) • Using Quotation Marks and Apostrophes
Practice • Controlled Composition: Cruel Cinderella
Unit 5: Hometown Appetite
1. Listening
Skill • Listening for Details
Practice • “The Village That Raised Me” – A Reflective Talk
2. Reading
Skill • Questioning Circles for Active Reading
Practice • “Homecoming”
3. Grammar • Prepositions
4. Vocabulary • Changing Words from One Class to Another
5. Study Skill • Tracking Your Progress in Learning
6. Speaking
Skill • Describing a Place (Describing the Location, Appearance, and Atmosphere of a Place; Describing the Climate and Natural Features; Accessibility and
Amenities; People, Culture, and Activities, and Personal Impressions)
Practice • My Hometown
7. Writing
Skill • Describing Objects • Using Colon in Sentences
Practice • Controlled Composition: Describing Places and Objects
About the Authors:
Dr M.S. Xavier Pradheep Singh is an ELT expert, instructional designer, thought leader, teacher trainer, editor, and reviewer of academic journals. His research interests span ELT, Tech-integrated Language Teaching, Teacher Development, Language Assessment, and Digital Humanities. He currently serves as the National Secretary of the English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELTAI). His accolades include: E-Teacher Scholarships thrice from the Regional English Language Office (RELO), the American Embassy; a grant (2011) from the British Council to participate in the Hornby South Asia Regional Training in Dhaka, Bangladesh; the Action Research Mentoring Scheme (ARMS) research grant (2017–18) from the British Council to mentor teacher research; the Ray Tongue Scholarship 2025 from the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) to speak at the IATEFL international conference in Edinburgh, the UK; and the MLA International Bibliographer Fellowship (2025–28). He has been a resource person for 150+ programmes.
Dr J. Amalaveenus specialises in Gender Studies, with research interests spanning Queer Theory, Psychoanalysis, and Graphic Narratives. She has published extensively in reputed national and international journals and has contributed chapters to English Through Prose (2021) and Multidisciplinary Research in the Contemporary Era (2023). Her completed sponsored research project, Entangled Queer Life: A Study of LGBT Identities in the Novels of Sarah Schulman, reflects her interdisciplinary engagement. She has successfully supervised several doctoral scholars. In recognition of her scholarly contributions, she received the Best Paper Publication Award in 2016.
A. Nepolian holds academic qualifications and professional experience from Loyola College, Chennai, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. His doctoral research explores the intersection of animal innocence and human erudition in literary texts. Deeply committed to education, language, and culture, he has presented numerous research papers at national and international conferences and published in reputed academic journals. His areas of scholarly interest include Postcolonial Studies, Ecocriticism, Animal Studies, and Educational Reform. He has designed and delivered online courses and e-content on Shakespeare and contemporary literary themes. Known for his innovative and analytical pedagogical approach, he has contributed significantly to both academic and administrative initiatives, including coordinating bridge courses and supporting student development programmes.
