Stanley Frank has developed a varied and challenging collection of photocopyable activities for the advanced-level student. The purpose is to develop speaking/listening fluency, and as the title implies, the focus is on contemporary life -- issues, problems, and the mass (pop) culture that is part of everyday life around the world.

There are four sections to the collection, four different kinds of activities.

* Part 1 contains eight types of communicative activities for small groups. The groups work together to solve problems - as editors, censors, judges, business executives, advice columnists.

* Part 2 has cooperative activities for pairs. Each student has half of a news story, and working together, they share their halves, reading, telling, asking, explaining, and discussing contemporary issues such as drugs, smoking, swearing, law suits, gender issues, gay and lesbian issues.

* Part 3 focuses on pop culture. Longer, gapped passages can be used as cooperative readings or dictations. They can be done by pairs, or by the teacher reading the full text as the students take dictation. The topics include classic rock and roll, the Beatles, romance novels, soap operas, movies, comic strips, and others.

* Part 4 is having fun with language with erratic headlines, doublespeak, jokes, and dozens of idioms and proverbs based on the body, animals, love, and colors.

Your students will do more than just talk things over. They'll also get reading practice and plenty of new and very contemporary vocabulary.