Rating: 
Summary: No evidence that it works
Review: All this book will do is give students an intelectual knowledge of the linguistics of English and help them take grammar tests. It will not improve the real grammar of speech or writing. Countless studies have shown that real language is acquired through comprehensible input (see books by Stephen Krashen). The other teachers who have written reviews may like teaching grammar, but they have no proof that their students' real language ability improved from working through the tedious rules and exercises.
Rating:
Summary: No evidence that it works
Review: All this book will do is give students an intelectual knowledge of the linguistics of English and help them take grammar tests. It will not improve the real grammar of speech or writing. Countless studies have shown that real language is acquired through comprehensible input (see books by Stephen Krashen). The other teachers who have written reviews may like teaching grammar, but they have no proof that their students' real language ability improved from working through the tedious rules and exercises.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent resource for ESL or learners
Review: Having taught English asa Second Language in Asia and the States as well as elementary school English and literacy, Azar is the best. Her examples are clear and interesting. The excercises are real to life. Her charts are invaluable to make things systematic and clear for all levels of students.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for ESL or learners
Review: Having taught English asa Second Language in Asia and the States as well as elementary school English and literacy, Azar is the best. Her examples are clear and interesting. The excercises are real to life. Her charts are invaluable to make things systematic and clear for all levels of students.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent introduction
Review: I am a teacher of english in ukraine at a business institute. This book has helped me very much in teaching students. It is an excellent reference guide.
Rating:
Summary: The best English grammar book I have used.
Review: I am an esl teacher of intermediate level adult students and I have been using this book in my class for about a year. I love the book, and even better, so do my students! The explanations are clear, and the exercises are superb. We do a combination of oral,aural, and written exercises. It's a great book to use in the classroom, and I have a number of students who have bought it to use for study at home. It's informative,thorough, and FUN!
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Summary: The best book for teaching English grammars to foreigners...
Review: I think this book is really wonderful. I have been teaching ESL/EFL for about eight years, and I have yet to see a book that is so complete. I teach English in Mexico, where everything the students have ever learned comes on a chart, so the charts are a HUGE help. What I most like about this grammar book is the oral exercises. Since I focus mostly on speaking and listening (due to my student's needs, of course) the students generally love the oral drills. I really recommend this book, especially for the oral practice of the grammar points. Any grammar book gives you boring fill in the blank exercises, but this book goes beyond that.
Rating:
Summary: This book provides a good fundamental knowledge...
Review: There seems to be a question as to the value of teaching students grammar from an academic standpoint. There has also been criticism of the academic nature of the Fundamentals of English Grammar by Betty Azar. I have read Stephen Krashen's books and I agree that students need comprehensible input and not just academic knowledge of English; however, from my experience as a language learner and teacher, I have discovered that students need a combination of both "form and function" of the language. Betty Azar's book, Fundamentals of the English Language, provides the "form" practice that students need to master these structures that carry meaning. After the students do the drill practices in Azar's book, I provide my own extension exercises which allow students to integrate these structures into their every day speech (function). I have discovered that language at the intermediate level starts to move into the realm of the intangible, which means acquiring language is no longer easy to extrapolate from mere deduction. Language acquisition that comes from the deductive process at this and more advanced levels is often highly inaccurate in both form and meaning as students erroneously try to transform it back into what is familiar to them. Consequently, achieving accuracy becomes a very time-consuming endeavor which is difficult to manage in a large classroom. Given the time constraints on language learning and the increasing demand for understanding and communicating technical information, these "academic" structures are essential for acquiring language that is concise and unadulterated. To enhance comprehension, I always do my own presentation of the material with my own examples and demonstrations before I ask the students to look at Azar's seemingly "academic" explanation. The oral and written drill practices contained in the book allow students to stay focused on accuracy so they can achieve mastery when they are asked to produce language of their own utilizing these targeted structures. If it is only conversational language that one wants to learn or to teach, sure, try some other book. There is, however, another reason to teach students grammar structures: grammar tests are one mode the educational institutions use to screen students from higher education. Most, if not all, of the standardized tests given as prerequisites for college study are focused on grammar. (It's what they erroneously call "writing".) I feel to deny a motivated student mastery of the language at that level is denying them the tools they need for achieving success in our present system. Betty Azar's Fundamentals of English Grammar presents these structures in a very organized fashion, and my students who learn the material do very well on these tests and are able to continue with their educational goals.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Grammar Fundamentalists; Weaker than Murphy
Review: This "classic" ESL text, recently updated with green headlines and green tinted pages in the appendix, remains a favorite among English grammar fundamentalists. This thick book offers the drill and kill approach to learning languages with far too much time spent on minor differences of more interest to linguists than to ESL students wanting to read, write, and speak English. What is the goal, anyway? Yet even if one believes in dwelling on the smallest details of some idealized use of the English language, I'd hestitate to recommend to either the second or third versions. Why? "Fundmentals" costs far too much, weighs too much, and contains far too many impractical exercises of limited practicality. Teachers may find the grammar puzzles fascinating, but students usually want to learn grammar so they can use the language. In comparision, Raymond Murphy's "Grammar in Use" series (Cambridge University Press) provides far clearer examples, a simpler format, and a more logical format. It's also ideal for self-study since lesson's answers can be found in the back. Plus, the "Grammar in Use" books cost far less. Administrators and teachers, especially ones working with immigrants and refugees, should consider price and practicality when choosing texts. Granted, this "classic" text makes more sense in elite, private programs where wealthy studdnts are preparing for the TOEFL test outside of the United States. Yet immigrants and refugees, however, don't need, want, or have the time to master these often silly distinctions without a difference. They need practical readings and compelling conversation exercises that help them get better jobs, make smarter consumer choices, and fully participate in the society. Ms. Azar's book provides almost no assistance to immigrants as they struggle to create new lives in an often confusing, strange land. Finally, I must confess that I don't like fundamentalists in religion or language study. The same excessive zeal and narrow-mindedness that can distort and pervert rich religious traditions can be detected in the Fundamentals of English Grammar. Ms. Azar wants new English readers to write - and speak - far "better" and more "correct" than the vast majority of native English speakers. She advocates a fossilized view of the English language where innovation, slang, and change are all "corruptions" and "wrong." Let's just throw away the last century of art, film, and literature! How can we, as English teachers, ask our immigrant students to write and speak better than of the President of the United States?
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Summary: It is the best book series for teaching English to adults.
Review: This and the other books in the Azar English Grammar series are great tools for teaching adult second language learners. It's really a system they can grow with. It makes my job as an ESL teacher a breeze.
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