Book excerpt: A paired skills series uses a sustained content approach to teach skills necessary for taking academic courses in English. Academic Encounters Level 2 Student's Book with DVD Listening and Speaking: American Studies engages students through interviews and academic lectures on stimulating topics from the fields of U.S. History and Culture. Topics include the Constitution, immigration, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American value system. Students develop crucial listening and note-taking skills, discuss content, conduct interviews, and make presentations. A Student DVD includes all of the academic lectures. Topics correspond with those in Academic Encounters Level 2 Reading and Writing: American Studies. The books may be used independently or together.