Under the heading "Read", three types of exercises are offered, all connected to one short piece of reading (which can easily be printed out for reference). "Comprehension" is a multiple choice exercise. In the "Cloze" exercise, students have to fill in exactly the words used in the reading passage. "Unscramble" is a reordering task which introduces a much needed playful element. No extra help on vocabulary is offered however. Students who don't know a word have to look it up in an external dictionary.

The "Listen" section is the one I found most fun. Every unit has its own listening piece which is then used for comprehension exercises and dictation. Almost all of them are in general American English, one is in not wholly convincing British English. The text types and style are varied and appropriate for intermediate level students. The feedback in the exercises is similar to that in other sections. The input tolerance in the dictation section is very low: one extra letter will provoke an error sound. Even writing "on" in a slot meant for "is" will not work. Introducing a comma into a sentence sometimes makes the whole sentence unacceptable to the program.

In contrast to the listening section, I found the "Write" section disappointing. Here, the students are asked to write a few sentences about a particular topic, using the grammatical forms practiced in that particular unit, sometimes also using certain expressions (e.g. the simple present tense with "sometimes", "usually", "never"). Once the students have finished writing, the only options open to them are saving and printing their text. There is no feedback whatsoever, not even on simple things such as number of words or use of the required expressions. The proposed topics, on the other hand, are well-chosen to fit the grammatical point of the unit. (See Fig. 4)

Fig 4: A typical writing exercise
(click for full-size view -- 22K gif)

The review tests are mostly multiple choice exercises of a slightly different type than in the units. Sensibly, while working on the test, the grammar notes and charts are not available.

On the whole "Focus on Grammar" offers solid, traditional grammar exercises with a few fun elements. The program is very stable, has an uncluttered interface which is easy to navigate. The reading and listening texts chosen offer a fair amount of challenge and variety to intermediate students of English. In contrast to the publishers, who advertise "Focus on Grammar" for self-directed learning or as an extension to regular class-work, I would certainly not recommend it as a stand-alone course, as there is no instructional presentation of any of the grammar points at all. However, as an additional opportunity to practice areas of grammar that have been introduced and covered in class, the exercises in "Focus on Grammar" offer sound and reliable extra material.