Book excerpt: Active Listening, Second Edition is a fully updated and revised edition of the popular 3-level listening series for adult and young-adult learners of North American English. Each level offers students 16 engaging, task-based units, each built around a topic, function or grammatical theme. Grounded in the theory that learners are more successful listeners when they activate their prior knowledge of a topic, the series gives students a frame of reference to make predictions about what they will hear. Through a careful balance of activities, students learn to listen for main ideas, to listen for details, and to listen and make inferences. Active Listening, Second Edition is intended for high-beginning to intermediate students. It can be used as a main text for listening classes or as a component in speaking or integrated skills classes. Features of the Student's Book - A before-you-begin unit to develop awareness of listening strategies - Updated prelistening schema-building activities to build vocabulary - New listen-again activities for additional coverage of listening skills - Optional your-turn-to-talk pages that offer speaking and pronunciation practice - New culturally rich Expansion units that include authentic student interviews - A new self-study listening section with audio CD for additional practice Features of the Teacher's Manual - Step-by-step teaching notes with key words highlighted - A wealth of optional speaking activities and listening strategies - Suggested times for completing lessons - Photocopiable unit quizzes - Two complete tests with audio CD - Complete answer keys