2

Third Edition
Solutions Upper-Intermediate
Teacher’s Guide

Helen Halliwell
Katherine Stannett Jeremy Bowell
Tim Falla Paul A Davies
Introduction to Solutions Third Edition

A note from the authors The components of the course

Welcome to Solutions Third Edition. Teachers’ responses
to Solutions and Solutions Second Edition have been Student’s Book
overwhelmingly positive. Solutions Third Edition has evolved, The Student’s Book contains:
based on teacher feedback, whilst retaining the key features • a four-page Introduction Unit, revising grammar and
that teachers value in the Solutions series: vocabulary
• engaging topics and texts • nine topic-based units, each covering eight lessons
• a strong focus on exam topics and tasks • five Exam Skills Trainer sections providing exam
• a clear structure, with easy-to-follow lessons that always preparation and practice
have an achievable outcome • ten Vocabulary Builders with practice and extension
• a familiar teaching and learning approach with plenty of • ten Grammar Builder and Grammar Reference sections with
extra practice material further practice and a full grammar reference
• a guided and supported approach to speaking and • nine Culture lessons with linked documentary DVD clips
writing Strategy boxes appear throughout to provide advice on
In the course of extensive research carried out for the new specific skills and how best to approach different task types.
edition, we spoke to scores of teachers and asked them how There are Strategy boxes for listening, speaking, reading and
we could improve the course. writing.
In response to their requests, we have:
Workbook
• provided 100% new content
The Workbook mirrors and reinforces the content of the
• included a Listening lesson in every unit which will Student’s Book. It offers:
develop your students’ listening skills
• further lesson-by-lesson practice of the language and
• included a Word Skills lesson in every unit which explores skills taught in the Student’s Book
the grammar of key vocabulary and includes dictionary-
based exercises
• more listening practice
• addressed mixed ability, with extra support for all levels • five Exam Skills Trainer sections providing further practice
of typical exam tasks
and suggested extension activities in the Teacher’s Guide
• increased the amount of language recycling and included • nine Unit Reviews to develop students’ awareness of
their progress
a Recycle! activity to consolidate grammar students have
studied earlier in the course • Self-checks with I can … statements at the end of every
Unit Review to promote conscious learner development
• provided added flexibility with a bank of Culture lessons
with supporting DVD documentary clips at the back of • five Cumulative Reviews for Units I–1, I–3, I–5, I–7 and I–9
the Student’s Book and extra activities on the Classroom • Functions Bank and Writing Bank
Presentation Tool • a Wordlist
Solutions Third Edition has benefited from collaboration • an Irregular verbs list
with teachers with extensive experience of teaching and Students can download the Workbook Audio from
preparing students for exams. We would like to thank www.oup.com/elt/solutions. The Workbook Audio is also
Helen Halliwell for sharing her expertise in writing the available on the Workbook Audio CDs in the Teacher’s Pack.
procedural notes in the Teacher’s Guide.
We are confident that the result is a forward-thinking and Student’s Book and Workbook e-Books
modern course that will prepare your students for the future Solutions Third Edition e-Books provide all the content from
and provide you with all the support that you need. We the Student’s Books and Workbooks, with extra features to
hope that you and your students enjoy using it! support your students’ learning:
• Built-in audio allows students to access the course audio
Tim Falla and Paul A Davies straight from the page.
• Students can slow down the audio to hear every word
clearly.
• The listen, record, compare feature helps students practise
their pronunciation.
• Built-in video in the Student’s Book e-Book gives you the
option of setting video homework for your students.
• Automatic marking in the Workbook e-Book lets students
check their progress independently and saves precious
class time.

Introduction to Solutions Third Edition 2

Teacher’s Pack Student’s and Teacher’s Websites
This pack provides everything you need to teach successful • The Student’s Website provides the Workbook Audio
lessons with Solutions Third Edition. The pack includes: (www.oup.com/elt/solutions).
• Essentials Teacher’s Book – answer keys and audio scripts • The Teacher’s Website provides further resources and
for both the Student’s Book and the Workbook reference material (www.oup.com/elt/teacher/solutions).
• A Teacher’s Resource Disk which contains:
–– 47 photocopiable activities Solutions Third Edition and exam
–– nine DVD worksheets with keys and scripts preparation
–– Teacher’s Guide: full teaching notes with ideas in every Student’s Book
lesson for extra / alternative activities, suggestions on
The Student’s Book includes five exam-specific sections
how to adapt material for strong and weak learners, and
(Exam Skills Trainer) designed to familiarise students with the
extension activities for fast finishers
task-types for most exams.
–– Twenty-first Century Skills Projects
These sections provide strategies and exam techniques
–– Course Test Audio, which can be played on your to give students the skills they need to tackle exam tasks
computer or on a CD player with confidence.
• Workbook Audio CDs Each section provides practice of all the skills that students
Class Audio CDs will need to demonstrate in most exams: use of English,
listening, reading, speaking and writing.
The Class Audio CDs contain all the listening material from
the Student’s Book, including recordings of all the reading Workbook
texts from the Student’s Book. Every other unit in the Workbook is followed by a double-
Course Tests page exam section to practise tasks for both oral and written
exams. Work in class can be followed up with tasks done as
The tests are available in editable and ready-to-use formats.
homework.
They include:
The audio for Workbook listening tasks is on the Workbook
• two Short Tests per unit, A and B versions Audio CDs or can be downloaded from www.oup.com/elt/
• a longer Progress Test for every unit, A and B versions solutions.
• three Cumulative Tests for Units 1–5, 6–9 and 1–9, A and
B versions Teacher’s Guide
All tests are fully editable, so you can adapt them to match The Student’s Book Exam Skills Trainers are accompanied
your students’ needs. by full procedural notes with advice and tips for exam
preparation.
Course DVD
The Course DVD provides teachers and students with 45
educational and informative DVD clips to extend the theme
and topic of the Student’s Book Culture lesson. The Course
DVD includes the following resources for Elementary,
Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate and
Advanced:
• one documentary-style DVD clip for every Student’s Book
Culture lesson
• worksheet and teaching notes with background notes,
answer key and script for every DVD clip
• optional subtitles in English
Classroom Presentation Tool
Deliver heads-up lessons with the Classroom Presentation
Tool. Class audio, video and answer keys, as well as your
teaching notes, are available online or offline, and updated
across your devices.
• one documentary-style DVD clip for every Student’s Book
Culture lesson
• optional lesson openers – additional lead-in activities to
motivate students and recycle language
• optional lesson closers – quiz-style round-up activities to
consolidate what students have learned in the lesson
• optional task support – for example, useful language or
extra ideas to help students complete classroom tasks

Introduction to Solutions Third Edition 3

A tour of the Student’s Book • There are clear grammar tables and rules, and the grammar
As well as the Introduction Unit, there are nine units in presentation is interactive. Students often have to complete
the Student’s Book. Each unit has eight lessons (A–H). tables and rules, helping them focus on the structures.
Each lesson provides material for one classroom lesson of • Look out! boxes appear wherever necessary and help
approximately 45 minutes. students to avoid common errors. Learn this! boxes
present key information in a clear and concise form.
• This lesson links to the Grammar Builder and Grammar
Reference at the back of the book, which provides further
explanations with examples and more practice.
• There is always a supported final speaking activity for
students to apply what they’ve learned in a productive task.

Lesson A – Vocabulary
• Lesson A introduces the topic of the unit, presents
the main vocabulary sets, and practises them through
listening and other activities. The vocabulary is recycled
throughout the rest of the unit.
• The unit map states the main language, skills and topic
areas to be taught. It gives a visual reference to the skills
pages and highlights the reference sections in each unit.
Lesson C – Listening
• I can … statements in every lesson establish a clear
learning objective.
• Lesson C follows a comprehensive and systematic syllabus
to improve students’ listening skills.
• Vocabulary is presented in lexical groups which aids
learning, memorisation and recall of new language.
• Lessons start with a vocabulary focus.
• The Recycle! activity recycles a grammar structure students
• There is a focus on one key sub-skill per lesson to allow
extensive development and practice of listening skills.
have learned earlier in the course using the vocabulary
from the lesson. • Each lesson has a listening strategy, focused on the sub-skill.
• The lesson finishes with a speaking task giving further • The second part of the lesson allows students to apply the
personalised practice of the lesson vocabulary. sub-skill to an exam-like listening task.
• Lessons end with a speaking task.

Lesson B – Grammar
Lesson D – Grammar
• Lesson B presents and practises the first main grammar
point of the unit. The new language is presented in a
• Lesson D presents and practises the second main
grammar point of the unit.
short text or other meaningful context.

Introduction to Solutions Third Edition 4

• The grammar presentation is interactive: students often • The text recycles the main grammar and vocabulary
have to complete tables and rules, helping them focus on points from the unit.
the structures. • Important new vocabulary is highlighted in the text and
• Learn this! boxes present key information in a clear and practised in a follow-up activity in the lesson and in the
concise form. corresponding Workbook lesson.
• This lesson links to the Grammar Builder and Grammar • All reading texts have been recorded and are on the Class
Reference at the back of the book, which provides further Audio CDs.
explanations with examples and more practice.
• A final speaking activity allows students to personalise the
new language.

Lesson G – Speaking
• Lesson G gives carefully staged supported practice of
common exam speaking tasks.
Lesson E – Word Skills • Lessons start with a vocabulary focus and also provide Key
• Lesson E provides extensive practice of word building, Phrases for the speaking task.
phrasal verbs and dictionary skills. • A Speaking Strategy gives practical advice on how to
• Vocabulary is introduced in the context of a short text. approach the speaking task.
• Students learn the grammar of key vocabulary and • Students listen to and analyse recorded models for
develop their understanding of the language they language, ideas and how best to approach a speaking
are learning. task. They are then well prepared to do the speaking task
• A Dictionary Work activity encourages learner autonomy. themselves.
Learning tips help students with self-study. • The Functions Bank at the back of the Workbook is an
essential reference resource and offers an effective way to
learn language in functional sets.

Lesson F – Reading
• Lesson F contains the main reading text of the unit.
• It covers two pages although it is still designed for one
lesson in class.
Lesson H – Writing
• The texts are up-to-date and engaging and link to the
topic of the unit.
• Lesson H takes a structured approach to writing and
prepares students for a wide range of writing exam tasks.

Introduction to Solutions Third Edition 5

• The lesson always begins by looking at a model text or
texts and studying the language and structure.
• Students learn and practise Key Phrases.
• In the final writing task, students are given support
(prompts / ideas) to produce their own writing
• A Writing Bank in the Workbook provides models of typical
exam writing task types and guidance on structure and
language to use.

Culture Bank
• The Culture Bank consists of nine ready-to-use culture
lessons linked to the topic and language of the main unit.
• Each Culture lesson is supported by a DVD documentary
clip with accompanying worksheets.

Exam Skills Trainer

• There are five Exam Skills Trainers (after units 1, 3, 5, 7 and
9) in the Student’s Book.
• Each Exam Skills Trainer incudes exam tasks for use
of English, listening, reading, speaking and writing.
• Each Exam Skills Trainer provides students with the
language, strategies and exam skills they need to achieve
success.
• The topics of the Exam Skills Trainers relate to the topics of
the previous two units.

Introduction to Solutions Third Edition 6

 Solutions Third Edition Classroom Presentation Tool
Deliver heads-up lessons with the Classroom Presentation Tool.
Engage your students in your blended learning classroom with digital features that can be used on
your tablet or computer, and connected to an interactive whiteboard or projector.
Play audio and video at the touch of a button and launch activities straight from the page.
These easy-to-use tools mean lessons run smoothly.
Answer keys reveal answers one-by-one or all at once to suit your teaching style and the highlight
and zoom tools can be used to focus students’ attention.
Take your Classroom Presentation Tool with you and plan your lessons online or offline, across your
devices. Save your weblinks and notes directly on the page – all with one account.
Use lesson openers, lesson closers and task support to motivate students, consolidate learning, and
support students to complete classroom tasks.

• Zoom in to focus your students’ attention on a single activity.

• Play audio and video at the touch of a button.

• Speed up or slow down the audio speed to
tailor lessons to your students’ listening level.

• Save time in class and mark answers all at once.

• Reveal answers after discussing the activity wasn’t
with students.
• Try the activity again to consolidate learning.

• Save your weblinks and other notes for quick

access while teaching. Use across devices using
one account so that you can plan your lessons
wherever you are.
• Work on pronunciation in class: record your
students speaking and compare their voices to
the course audio.

Example screens taken from iPad iOS version Introduction to Solutions Third Edition 7