Blog
Compelling Conversations site is up and running again!
Sometimes you don’t appreciate something until you lose it.
My website, down and out for almost a week of tech turmoil as I changed server, host, and webmaster, demonstrates this point. The site, www.compellingconversations.com , has been restored and even slightly upgraded. The check out system, for instance, takes consumers directly to Paypal – saving time and reducing hassle. The blog, still primitive, is a more advanced version of WordPress, but I still don’t really know what that means in practical terms. I seem to have lost numerous blog postings, but these brief musings are first thoughts and not finely crafted essay. The free conversation lessons and five book chapters on Traveling, Studying English, Being Yourself, Talking about Movies, and Practicing Job Interviews, can be easily downloaded.
I’m still learning – and sometimes stumbling, but the website is stronger, safer, and deeper than before.
Please drop by, check out the free lessons, and read about creating lively ESL classroom discussions. As ever, please contact me if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments at talktome@compellingconversations.com.
Enjoy!
“Have friends. It’s a second existence.”
Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658), Spanish philosopher
TaLKing in English, Talking about English, and Learning Korean
Sometimes we confuse talking about English with talking in English. As English teachers, we need to gently encourage our students to talk as much as possible in English, and only sometimes in English. And as world citizens, we should learn as much about the country and host language as possible when we are teaching English abroad.
A new English teaching program, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in Korea seems to understand that goal. Or at least that seems a reasonable inference about TaLK (Teach and Learn about Korea) from the persuasive recruitment website for 400 quality English teachers. A few features struck me as particularly promising:
· Preference for individuals of Korean descent showing the government’s investment in the quality of the program
· Pitch for undergraduates and novice teachers to develop their skills
· Small class size and universal internet access
· Status as presidential scholars
· 15-hour work weeks
· planned visits to museums and cultural attractions
· pitch for TaLK program includes “be a local celebrity”
· opportunity to deepen the ties between Korean and American educators
The large recent demonstration by thousands of Korean citizens against the importation of untested beef has been widely misunderstood in the United States. Almost everyone, including American citizens, wants stricter regulation of food to guarantee food safety, but too many media reports pretend this mass demonstration showed widespread anti-American sentiment in South Korea. I thought this innovative educational program was a poignant retort to that silly exaggeration. I’m confident that most citizens, in both South Korea and the United States, understand that you can’t blame individual people for unpopular government decisions.
The 400 young teachers selected for this program will have many opportunities to share experiences, teach English to eager students, and learn some Korean. They will also help sustain a strong friendship between people from two dynamic civilizations.
Visit TaLK on Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology website for more information.
We learn by stumbling
Modern mishaps can illuminate traditional proverbs.
One website goes down, essays get lost, and the email gets blocked for a few days. Frustration mounts. I recall the Bulgarian proverb, “we learn by stumbling.” I cool down, take a breath, and try to appreciate the process of resurrecting a modern communications miracle (website) and move an evolving blog.
How’s it going? Slow. But please be patient. Compelling Conversations will soon be back, improved, and ready for further technological improvements. Some changes will work; some will fail.
We learn by stumbling.
Can I turn that paper in next week?
Accommodating English teachers, students and the need for more time
Sometimes time just seems to escape, and we fall behind. Despite the alarm clocks, cell phones, and wrist watches, and many labor-saving appliances, the hours just seem to rush by, the work piles remain, and time vanishes. Modern life can feel more hectic than relaxing – even in summer.
This uncomfortable experience that life is too hectic is quite familiar to adult education students who often work two jobs, take care of their family, and go to school at night.
ESL Teacher: What do you like to do you in free time?
Adult ESL Student: What is free time?
Many college and university English language students feel pressured and short of time. I’ve had ESL students tell me that “sleep is for the weak” and they can’t afford to get even six hours, let alone eight hours of sleep. This lack of sleep, of course, reduces their ability to think clearly, write strong papers, and increases their stress levels.
ESL teachers, who sometimes work at two or more locations, can also feel overwhelmed and stressed by deadlines, traffic jams, and work loads. Getting to class ten minutes early is a wonderful practice, but many evening ESL instructors find it difficult to squeeze just 10 extra minutes into their crammed schedule.
Therefore, it’s useful for ESL teachers and English instructors to teach a few helpful phrases to English language learners to use when they need more time at work or school for projects and class assignments.
Can I have an extra hour?
Can you give me an extension?
Is there any way we can postpone this?
When is the absolute final deadline?
Do I have to work overtime?
Can I have the weekend off?
Is there somebody else who can do this?
Would it be okay to turn this in a day late?
Can I turn that paper in next week?
While nobody would ever fall behind on their work schedules in the perfect world, ESL teachers and students live and work under imperfect and sometimes challenging circumstances. We should, therefore, help our students develop the vocabulary and verbal skills to request extensions, reduce their stress levels, and shift deadlines. Students should also be prepared to explain why they need an extra time.
These requests may be denied, ignored, or accepted, but our students should at least have the vocabulary to ask for more time.
Ask More. Know More. Share More.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.compellingconversations.com
Make time for conversations – in and outside of English classrooms
The art of conversation, once considered the sign of a civilized individual, seems less common today. Yet I treasure the moments of sharing experiences, collecting news, and exchanging ideas. I make a point of knowing my neighbors, allowing casual greetings to become long conversations, and making time to explore the feelings and perceptions of friends and relatives in depth. These natural conversations provide information, encouragement, laughs, and pleasure.
Life today often seems very hectic. Who has time for long lunches and civilized conversations? Yet accepting this notion cheats us and denies our responsibility for our choices. We can choose to watch television programs, play computer games, or listen to the radio rather than talk to relatives and friends. It’s a choice.
The internet, a modern wonder, provides another way to find ideas, explore possibilities, and connect with friends. Many find surfing the internet easier, even better than having actual conversations. Sometimes international students also feel too shy to speak to the people next to them. Many Americans, it seems to me, have forgotten how to hold good, deep conversations, or even a friendly chat on the phone. I suspect this lack of real communication lessens their daily joy.
Of course, adult students, immigrant workers, and other people learning English as a second, third, or fourth language face even more barriers to a satisfying conversation in English. First, English remains a confusing, difficult, and strange language. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable when speaking in this new tongue.
What questions do I ask? How can I keep a conversation going? What vocabulary words are needed? How do I show agreement, or disagreement, in a lively, yet polite way? How can I share my experiences in a clear manner? How can I have better, more engaging conversations in English?
Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics addresses these issues for both native and non-native speakers. The focus is on learning by doing, and making good mistakes. (Good mistakes, by the way, are natural mistakes that help us learn so we can make different and better “good mistakes” next time.) Each of the 45 chapters includes 30 or more questions, 10 or more targeted vocabulary words, a few proverbs, and 10 or more quotations. Although designed for advanced students, intermediate ESL students will find plenty of material to use and can benefit from exposure to the new words, phrases, and questions.
Each chapter focuses on a promising conversation topic. The questions allow the reader to practice exchanging experiences and ideas in a natural style. You can add questions, skip questions, and move on to related topics. Each chapter begins with easier questions and moves on to questions that are more abstract.
Both native English speakers and English language learners will find the questions allow one to share experiences, exchange insights, and reflect on life. The questions are conversation starters, and not scripts to follow. The goal remains to create a real dialogue, increase your understanding of your classmates, and gently push you toward using a richer vocabulary in your English conversations. Further, the engaging material allows ESL students to recycle material and use the questions outside of English language classrooms. Students learn by doing, and discover they can create compelling conversations in English!
Click here for a sample chapter on Studying English. Enjoy!
Ask more. Know more. Speak more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
