Azar Interactive:
A Multimedia Grammar Experience
(Continued from Page One)

Reviewed by Brian Rhodes
Okanagan University College, and
Originator of TOEFL Prep
http://www.studint.net

The videos, 30 minutes of them, are 240x180 QuickTime clips (i.e., very small digital movies) explaining the grammar points in some of the units. The picture quality is limited, and at this size some of the on-screen text is nearly illegible, but the content is both educational and amusing. For example, the video on the gerund vs. infinitive contains an upbeat 'jazz sound' and reminds me of the New York Voices (click for RealAudio sample) vocal group. While demonstrating the videos to teachers and while observing students, I didn't come across anyone who didn't get a smile on his or her face. The students were amused, entertained, and informed. I'm hopeful the improved compression technology available today will allow Prentice Hall to redo the clips into a bigger size and better quality.

The readings suffer from the same fate as the audio conversations: there are not enough questions. However, I realize the CD is not a reading comprehension test, and the readings do give adequate examples, in context, of the grammatical structure, as Prentice Hall most likely intended.

All in all, the Azar Interactive CD does a fair job at offering multimedia grammar practice with its more than 750 grammar items with audio and video support. I believe that potential buyers will not question the value of the content, but the value that Prentice Hall has placed on the purchase price. As of this writing, the CD is available at Amazon Books for $177.50 USD. That's a lot for an ESL teacher wanting to have 20 or 30 copies for a lab (for my lab, that's $4,035 Canadian at the discount price!), and rather prohibitive for individual student purchase as part of a course as well.