Welcome to Open Forum

Open Forum is a three-level listening and speaking skills series for English language learners who need practice in extended listening and discussion in preparation for academic work, or to attain a personal goal.

The series is structured around high-interest listening texts with an academic focus that engage and motivate students. Units feature academic content areas such as Business, History, or Psychology. The content areas are revisited as the series progresses, ensuring that students recycle and extend the ideas and vocabulary of each topic. Focused practice in listening and speaking skills is integrated into each unit.

Open Forum 1 is for students at the high-beginning to low-intermediate level.

Open Forum 2 is for students at the intermediate level.

Open Forum 3 is for students at the high-intermediate to advanced level.

Features of Open Forum

Listening Skills

• Each unit introduces and practices a specific listening skill (e.g., listening for main points, identifying opinions).
• Listening selections are adapted from authentic sources. They are carefully chosen to engage students and teachers and to stimulate discussion.
• A wide variety of texts—including lectures, radio interviews, news reports, and informal conversations—ensures students practice listening to a range of audio formats.
• Listening comprehension tasks provide opportunities for extensive and intensive listening, which becomes more challenging as students move through the series.

Speaking Skills

• Each unit introduces and practices one specific speaking skill (e.g., elaborating, managing a conversation).
• Speaking practice sections in each unit provide opportunities for extended discussion on the unit theme.
• Abundant opportunities for interaction in pairs, groups, and as a class ensure student participation.

Vocabulary

• Vocabulary sections introduce key lexical items associated with the unit theme. The sections also highlight word-building, collocations, and phrasal verbs.

Pronunciation

• Pronunciation sections raise students’ awareness of features of natural spoken English, such as stress, rhythm, intonation, and linking.

MP3 Component

• Downloadable audio files (in MP3 format) for all units are available on the Open Forum Web site www.oup.com/elt/openforum. Each selection complements the topic in the corresponding unit, and provides students with opportunities for extended listening practice in the content areas. The listening selections can be used independently, or in a language lab setting.

Assessment

• Progress Tests (available in the Answer Key and Test Booklet) enable teachers to check students’ progress and allow students to demonstrate mastery of the strategies they have studied.