Messages is a motivating lower-secondary course. Teachers and students are rewarded with immediate results at every 'Step' of each unit. Students can use their English to explore a complete set of online 'Infoquest' websites. Reading skills are developed through continuous stories and regular 'Life and culture' sections. KET- and PET-style exercises help develop exam skills. Exercises where students can work to their level make the course ideal for mixed-ability classes. Fast finishers can complete the 'Try this!' sections and extension exercises in the Workbook. Messages has been correlated against the CEF. The 'Coursework' activities at the end of each module provide students with examples of work to add to it. Regular 'Learning diary', 'How's it going' and 'Study skills' sections create independent learners who take responsibility for their own progress. Level 1 assumes students have studied English at primary school, but gives full coverage of all basic language areas.