Do you match? How do you know? Bringing Realism to Relationship discussions in ESL Classrooms
Are you romantically involved? Do you match your partner? How do you know? Who will you choose to share your life with? Are you considering marriage? Are you already married? Use these questions as a springboard to reflect on your options, choices, and desires on this Valentine’s Day. Here is chapter #33 from Compelling Conversations that many friends have told me is better for native...
Read MoreEnglish Teaching Professional Strongly Recommends Compelling Conversations!
Consider my global soul satisfied this morning! English Teaching Professional, a glossy magazine for ESL teachers and language school directors, gave a glowing review and strong recommendation to Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics. “In sum, Compelling Conversations is a recommended resource for teachers who want to make their conversation classes more...
Read MoreLooking for An ESL Book to Improve Speaking Skills? SMDP Recommends Compelling Conversations!
Santa Monica, California attracts artists, scholars, busboys, maids, actresses, models, sales people, mechanics, and film directors from around the world. Naturally, this upscale, coastal city provides many adult education classes, private language classes, and hosts English as a Second language workplace programs. The local newspaper, The Santa Monica Daily Press (SMDP), also covers immigration...
Read MoreHow Many American Adults Can Not Read This Blog? Can Not Read?
Illiteracy, the inability to turn abstract symbols called letters into meaningful words, should be a vanishing problem. Unfortunately, in the United States, adult illiteracy remains quite widespread. How many American adults can’t even read this blog? How many American adults can’t read a simple newspaper article, understand warning labels, or write an effective complaint letter?...
Read MoreDo You Feel Rich Enough? What’s the Standard?
Talking about money remains problematic, but this conversation topic is more for self-reflection than classroom application. But please bear with me. How rich are you? How much money would satisfy you? Americans, and many other people in consumer societies, sometimes seem to be pursuing a moving mirage of material happiness. The luxuries of one year become the perceived necessities the next...
Read MoreWhat New English Words Will You Learn in 2009?
What new English words will you learn in 2009? Which English words will you teach? Do you have a way with words? Are you a lover of word trivia and origins? Are you an English teacher? If so, consider listening to the celebrated public radio show in 2009! Forget forcing students to memorize boring vocabulary lists. Get your English students engaged in the story of English words, their origins,...
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