New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) The world has changed and so have the ways in which we communicate and connect with each other. The current need of social distancing is propelling the transformation of the traditional classroom into virtual/digital learning.

As we adapt to a new normal and stay safe at home practicing social distancing, it's time to capitalise on the opportunity of availability of time to better ourselves as an individual with the most powerful language that unites people across geographies - English.

Oxford University Press, in its endeavour to promote excellence in education and research by publishing worldwide, recommends the following titles as part of its vertical ‘English Language Teaching for Adult Learners' to master the language that you require in all that you do.

Whether it's preparing for competitive exams, or minimising common day-to-day errors, or just further sharpening your grammar, this list caters to all.

* The Elevate Series by Shefali Ray, Samathmika Balaji and Simran Luthra

This series of three books caters to three levels of English -Elementary, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate. Mapped to the international language framework known as CEFR, these books help
learners boost their all-round knowledge of English, including the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) along with grammar and vocabulary. The engaging exercises and activities in this series allows learners to enhance their real-life usage of English while enjoying the process of learning.

* Spoken English for My World by Sabina Pillai:

Speaking English is sometimes the most difficult skill, even for people who have good reading and writing skills. This book helps the learner sharpen their spoken language in various situations, such as their personal, professional and social worlds. It comes with audio and video components built into an interactive Smart Tutor along with quizzes in the Areal app. With sections on spoken grammar and spoken vocabulary, this book is a complete resource for someone looking to speak English better in their daily life.

* Common Errors in Everyday English by Saumya Sharma

This book is not just about common errors. It includes some cleverly deceptive mistakes that we commonly make, including often-mispronounced words. It also covers grammatical errors, frequently used and confused expressions and faux pas that are made unknowingly. This book can surely act as a worthwhile guide, a fact-checking resource and an easy-to-use reference tool. It will be
of immense support in basic writing skills.

* Be Grammar Ready by John Eastwood

Written by a British grammarian with over four decades of authorship experience, this book keeps in mind the particular needs of Indian learners of English and provides updated grammar rules and information about usage, along with examples tailored to Indian contexts and exercises for practice, all of which support learners towards achieving accuracy in their use of English.

With over 170 grammar topics explained in concise and informative chapters, this book makes learning grammar easy and interesting for both self-learners, such as professionals and exam aspirants, as well as for classroom teaching.

*The Definitive Guide to IELTS General Training: Preparation and Practice by Audrone Raskauskiene, Irena Ragaisiene, Ramute, Zemaitiene and Santanu Sinha Chaudhuri

This series of separate books for IELTS Academic and General Training is designed to meet the needs of learners preparing for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). It covers all four sections of the test, including Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. It also includes audio and video components.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and sharpen your skills!

--IANS vm/in