Lida R. Baker has been a teacher, author, and editor in the field of English as a Second/Foreign Language for over 30 years. She taught for 25 years in the intensive English program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension. Her first book, Interactions 2: A Listening/Speaking Skills Text was published in 1985 and is now in its 6th edition. Her other top-selling series, Real Talk, is one of the only ELT series on the market to use genuinely authentic recordings of conversations, lectures, and radio broadcasts to help students develop their listening skills. Since 1985 Ms. Baker has written many more student books, teacher's guides, and online practice materials. She is a member of the TESOL International Association and was recently chair of the Materials Writers Interest Section. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Her many interests (besides ESL) include choral singing, swimming, folk dancing, reading, and gardening.