This two book listening/speaking series is designed for adults at the low-to-mid level of English language acquisition who have not yet developed the basic communication skills necessary to successfully process material heavy with unfamiliar information or subject matter. Thus, intensive listening skill training and extensive conversation and speaking practice are carried out within a context of topics realistic and familiar to the students. The acquisition of effective listening skills is facilitated by a language classroom in which trial and error plus risk taking are encouraged through self-directed techniques.Both student books provide a framework through which increasingly complex information and culturally enriching knowledge are spiraled. Exercises and activities overlap - past language lessons are reinforced while new material is introduced. These specific listening attack strategies are covered: using what you already know, scanning for the main idea and main points making inferences (intelligent guesses), scanning for specific pieces of information, and using context clues and using structure and intonation clues.