Review ~ Key Words for the Oil and Gas Industry

Key Words for the Oil and Gas Industry

This title is a self-study vocabulary book with accompanying audio CD designed for students who want to master the English of the oil and gas industry, whether for study or work purposes. It is part of a series of similar books aimed at different branches of engineering, insurance, retail, finance, accounting and hospitality.

The book contains the 500 most useful words for the field, and is designed to help students acquire a good working vocabulary as efficiently as possible. Each entry has a headword, pronunciation, variant forms and abbreviations, subject area (linked to thematic word lists), word forms, word class, a definition, sample sentences, synonyms and collocations.

The book starts with a very clear two-page spread to explain the layout of the entries, then there is a one-page guide to the pronunciation symbols used and five pages of thematic word lists, followed by the A-Z dictionary. There are 16 pages of exercises, with answers. The accompanying Audio CD contains pronunciation files, for American English, in alphabetical order, with a woman’s voice reading each word and a sample sentence (also in the dictionary).

An almost perfect idea, this new-style dictionary of key vocabulary for a specific field is not only perfect for students, it will undoubtedly also be a great help for teachers working with specific groups, and the exercises might provide useful inspiration, too. The format is great: a small paperback, with an audio CD to help learn correct pronunciation, but perhaps an electronic version would also be useful for the intended public.

I asked a friend who works in the industry to give me some feedback. He was really pleased with the concept (and so I consider myself lucky to have got the book back at all). I hope Collins expand the range with other specialised Key Words, which also make interesting reading for those wishing to learn more about a specific field. For example, I’m rather surprised that they haven’t yet produced one for Nursing or Medicine.