As a volunteer tutor at Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville-Albemarle (LVCA), I've worked with the Ventures series from Cambridge University Press, specifically the Ventures 2 Student's Book. I've worked well with this book in some ways, but found some parts of it wanting.
The Chapter Framework
The Ventures 2 book does well communication teaching by providing a manageable load of grammar and vocabulary in each unit. The units are broken up into lessons with A focused on listening with plenty of cartoon drawings that detail vocabulary; there are QR codes so you can hear the text with the use of a cell phone (digital resiliency!). Lessons B and C center on Grammar concepts with exercises while Lesson D provides a thematically linked reading sequence with the grammar/vocabulary incorporated. Section E provides some exercises with a writing prompt. Section F is called Another View gives a different set of circumstances with the same concepts. I really like that present, past, and future verb tenses are all engaged by Unit 3 so that progression moves to learning regular/irregular verbs, modal verbs as well as expanding vocabulary. We all use verbs in all three time tenses so to my mind, the sooner this gets presented, the better.
Scope and Sequence
The scope covers a variety of necessary steps in each unit: unit topic, functions, listening and speaking, vocabulary, grammar focus, reading, writing, life skills, and a bit on pronunciation at the end. The units move in a sensible progression sequentially: personal information, school/classroom, friends/family, health, around town, time (life events), shopping, work, daily living, then free time.
ESL key skills
All three of the four language learning guideposts (reading, writing, listening) are met and with a tutor/partner, there will be by definition speaking. The system seems to work best with paired learning though individuals might struggle and though it occasionally references group work, there's not much specificity. The situations presented are adult level (jobs, shopping, budgets, social interactions) and the grammar/ vocabulary repeats sufficiently. That said, in my experience my student struggled with grammar so we've switched to Basic English Grammar (Third edition) so circled back on some concepts. I took over for another tutor so not sure where the disconnect first appeared.
Culture
The cartoon pictures give a wide view of American society with diverse peoples featured. It is age appropriate but doesn't emphasize the student's culture directly. Charlottesville has a wide demographic range of nationalities (IRC hub) so that probably works well here. That said, I find myself asking questions outside of the textbook to learn about my student's life. There are some photos but could be more as a nice change of pace. The Third edition we use is the most recent so the graphics are up-to-date (no flip phones or phone books to be seen).
The emphasis is more on life skills than any cross-discipline track. There are a few moments for the student's language or culture to be drawn upon; specifically when they talk with their partner at the end of each lesson within the unit.
Immigrant Life
The textbook is strong on showing immigrants managing their transitions into American life. The stories don't shy away from struggles or language issues. They show some grit and resilience and folks overcoming obstacles to get good things. Problems (buying a chair) are presented and solved. They also depict people forming communities in this country. '
Communicative Learning Teaching
The language system works on vocabulary and grammar. The exercises move from controlled (B and C) to semi-controlled (D- F). There are some free tasks in the partner talk and writing prompts. This may be because the book seemed designed with solo and pairs and less for group work (pairs within a group seems to be possible). The written prompts seemed to intimidate my student but they seem eminently doable to me. The grammatical seems well covered but the other three competencies (sociolinguistic, strategic, and discourse) get addressed in these real life scenarios (Milhai/Purmensky: Course Design for TESOL, page 23). But I find I am a big fan of question words: the sooner we learn these words and what each is asking about, the more we can begin to answer questions and ask our own. Flipping the verb and subject to ask still more questions adds to the student's arsenal. If a student can ask a question well, he or she will likely get a better answer. Additionally, if a question is understood readily, then responding is easier. so more sooner is my creed.
Adversity
I think the book shows folks dealing with problems and challenges; Unit 7 centers on buying furniture for instance. But there's not much paraphrasing or inference drawing afoot as communication strategies are presented as is. Maybe this is a function of an intermediate level book. Culturally the book shows standard American life in terms of day to day living fairly well and fits an adult trying to integrate into the society. There was an emphasis on budgets and buying discounted items (be it food or other goods) which probably helped in the grocery aisle. These life skill pedagogies are a strength.
Issues
There were no group learning offered per se. No geography or history or science proffered thought the consumer spending involved some rudimentary math. There are no memorization emphasis that I could find though when we go back into a lesson, I often ask what we learned the previous week to see what she's retained. There are loads of online resources for teachers with the aforementioned QR codes with read-aloud voices for the student. The tech interface works really well.
Summary
The Ventures series and Ventures2 student book present the student with many good tools stressing reading, writing, and listening specifically (with a tutor or partner speaking). It's well designed with mostly semi-controlled exercises and what amounts to free when let loose to talk with a partner. It's smart and well designed to all the proper standards. The book paints a positive and welcoming view of American society where people can come here and make a good life. But there are little to no cross cultural discipline approaches and native-speaking language/culture references outside of partner talk. It does what it sets out to do well but could be broadened.