Transitions is a book designed for use with the Ventures Series. As indicated in the title, it is written for high-intermediate and low-advanced ESL learners who plan to take the next step to mainstream academic programs or wish to re-establish themselves in their careers. To better prepare students for these challenges, the authors of the textbook focus on developing reading and writing skills. Although the emphasis is on reading and writing, listening and speaking skills are also included in the initial stages of each unit. The table of contents in chart form provides a good overview of the following categories: topic, listening and speaking, vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing, for each of the ten units. It is informative and well-organized. It certainly helps students understand the different aspects and elements of the learning process and encourages them to take responsibility.

The topics of great importance to students who are interested in work-related issues include, for example, Job skills, Job search and Job interview with Creating a resume, Writing a cover letter and Writing a thank-you note, respectively. Each unit is divided into five lessons. The first lesson, Get Ready, introduces the topic of the unit through speaking about the visuals, note-taking listening practice related to the mini-lecture and communicative activities, like role-plays and discussions. The second lesson focuses on practical grammar with the help of information charts, guided practice and conversations. Lessons three and four develop learners’ reading skills and follow the same format.

In the pre-reading part, students are encouraged to use their prior knowledge and make predictions. Then, they read a text that consists of several paragraphs and continue with vocabulary building and summarizing.

The unit concludes with the final lesson, Writing. It provides warm-up tasks, a writing model, a writing assignment, editing and peer evaluation.

Throughout the book, the authors provide numerous opportunities to learners to improve and master their skills, especially reading and writing. Students are active participants, working on a variety of authentic, high-interest activities related to academic or career issues. They establish a healthy language practice routine, are required to access recordings of reading texts on the publisher’s website and use a self-study audio CD. Hopefully, in the future, grammar lessons will include Simple Past Tense review and polite forms of modals.

All in all, it is a highly recommended and user-friendly resource.