English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language & Culture in the U.S. - Softcover

Murtha, Sheila MacKechnie; O'Connor, Jane Airey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738606766 ISBN 13: 9780738606767

Publisher: Research & Education Association,U.S., 2011

Synopsis

This is a fun guide to everything American for the English language learner! Written by seasoned ESL instructors, this handy guidebook was designed for people who already have a good grasp of English, but want to improve how they speak the language as it is spoken in the United States. Written in a lighthearted and easy-to-follow style, this book is a great resource for people of all ages and all nationalities. Each unit introduces commonly used phrases, vocabulary, and verbs, and offers sample dialogs to illustrate everyday American life. It offers sentence completions, quizzes, tips, and learning fun. Individual units cover topics essential to the mosaic of American life: making friends, basic skills, driving, clining out, dealing with money, home life, emergency situations, doctor visits, handling a job interview, and more.

About this title

About the Authors

About the Authors

Sheila and Jane have been colleagues and friends for… well, let’s
just say a long time. As English as a Second Language (ESL)
teachers, they worked together on lots of projects… and had lots of
fun as they worked. A partnership was born!

Together, Jane and Sheila have teaching credentials in several
states and two continents. With years and years… and years… of
experience (they just don’t want to count them all, ha!), they have
taught ESL to little kids, big kids, university students, adults, company
executives, and other teachers in the U.S. and Europe (both
online and in regular classroom settings).

Both Sheila and Jane have served as members of the New Jersey
Department of Education Advisory Committee for ESL/Bilingual
Education. They’ve facilitated online ESL training courses for teachers
through the NJ DOE professional development program. Sheila
has held several leadership positions scoring teacher candidate responses
for an international testing company, and Jane has written
ESL test questions and rated English as a Foreign Language exams
for another internationally recognized testing company. (They teach,
they test, they score!)

They have won many awards for excellence in teaching, including
two Teacher of the Year awards, and corporate citations for excellence.
They’ve given numerous presentations and have written curriculum
and syllabi for diverse ESL populations. Add to this some fun
teaching projects in Spanish, public speaking, drama, writing… and,
we’re not kidding, even soccer skills and you’ve got two writers who

know how to have a good time writing a book!

Jane is now the Director of ESL Services for Emory College of Arts
and Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. Sheila is a lecturer in the English
Language Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and continues
to teach, write and consult in New Jersey and New York. Although
they live several states away, both are happy to find time to work
together on fun projects… like this book!

About the Authors

Sheila and Jane have been colleagues and friends for… well, let’s
just say a long time. As English as a Second Language (ESL)
teachers, they worked together on lots of projects… and had lots of
fun as they worked. A partnership was born!

Together, Jane and Sheila have teaching credentials in several
states and two continents. With years and years… and years… of
experience (they just don’t want to count them all, ha!), they have
taught ESL to little kids, big kids, university students, adults, company
executives, and other teachers in the U.S. and Europe (both
online and in regular classroom settings).

Both Sheila and Jane have served as members of the New Jersey
Department of Education Advisory Committee for ESL/Bilingual
Education. They’ve facilitated online ESL training courses for teachers
through the NJ DOE professional development program. Sheila
has held several leadership positions scoring teacher candidate responses
for an international testing company, and Jane has written
ESL test questions and rated English as a Foreign Language exams
for another internationally recognized testing company. (They teach,
they test, they score!)

They have won many awards for excellence in teaching, including
two Teacher of the Year awards, and corporate citations for excellence.
They’ve given numerous presentations and have written curriculum
and syllabi for diverse ESL populations. Add to this some fun
teaching projects in Spanish, public speaking, drama, writing… and,
we’re not kidding, even soccer skills and you’ve got two writers who

know how to have a good time writing a book!

Jane is now the Director of ESL Services for Emory College of Arts
and Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. Sheila is a lecturer in the English
Language Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and continues
to teach, write and consult in New Jersey and New York. Although
they live several states away, both are happy to find time to work
together on fun projects… like this book!

From the Back Cover

ENGLISH THE AMERICAN WAY: A FUN ESL GUIDE TO LANGUAGE & CULTURE IN THE U.S. WITH AUDIO CD & MP3

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to improve your English language skills, this is the book for you!

LEARN ENGLISH FROM THE EXPERTS
Written by experienced ESL instructors, this handy guidebook was designed for people who already have a basic grasp of English, but want to improve how they speak the language as it is spoken in the United States.

MASTER THE ESSENTIALS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH
Individual units cover topics in American life: making friends, basic skills, driving, dining out, dealing with money, home life, emergency situations, doctor visits, handling a job interview, and more. Hundreds of phrases and vocabulary terms build your understanding of everyday English.

PRACTICE AT HOME OR ON THE GO
Our audio CD includes the book’s sample dialogues to help you practice your vocabulary and pronunciation skills. You can also download MP3 files to your mobile device and practice wherever you go! 

Don't miss the second book in the series... Celebrate the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to English Language and Culture.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A Letter from the Authors

Hi there! Thanks for choosing our book. We think it shows just how
smart you are.

We had a lot of fun writing this book, and we hope that you’ll have
a lot of fun reading it. Well, have fun, but also learn a lot about the
English language and American culture.

We’ve always loved English—the sound of the words, the fun of
the idioms, and the interesting way the words work together. We
also know that learning all this stuff can be a challenge to English
language learners. And that’s where our book comes in!

English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language and
Culture in the U.S. is your very own ... well, guide, to... yes, American
language and culture. You’ll find tons (a lot!) of vocabulary, all of it
used in real-life ways. We’ve included tons of informal language—the
stuff you really hear every day. And we take a look at American customs—
birth to death, and everything in-between!

We hope this book will be a help in your adventure learning English.
Good luck!

How This Book Works

This book has 21 units packed with language and culture!

Each unit has a main topic divided into two or three cultural readings. In these readings
and the dialogues that follow, you’ll find real English, not the simplified language
you find in most ESL books. The units are full of vocabulary and informal language—
tons of idioms, phrasal verbs and slang—bold within the text, then listed at the end of
each section with a simple explanation. Listen to the CD for native speaker pronunciation
of the dialogues, then pause and repeat to practice!

Look for grammar reminders, idiomatic expressions, culture tips, and fun facts.
Oh, and don’t forget to check your understanding (and memory) with the special
review sections. You’ll find them after every three units.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

 

Unit 1 - New Friends

 

New country? New friends!
But how do you meet them?
Making new friends is an exciting part of moving to a new place, but sometimes it’s hard to know just how formal to be with new people. Americans are usually very casual. They’re also very friendly. This is a good thing, but it can be tricky. Everyone knows that good old basic English phrase, “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” Oh, yeah, we bet you were ready for that. Well, you may be ready, but then you may be surprised to learn that you won’t hear that phrase very often. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you” is okay for first-time introductions, but when friends meet socially, the conversation will probably sound more like this:

 

ALAN: Hey, Lia! It’s good to see you.
LIA: You, too. I haven’t seen you in a few days. How are you? How’s it going?
ALAN: Not bad. I’m so busy with the classes I’m taking. How about you?
LIA: I’m okay. I know you’re busy with classes. My job’s really hectic this time of year, too. What’s new with you?
ALAN: Nothing much. I’m on my way to the mall. I need some time off! Do you remember Lana? She’s there. Ha! She’s always at the mall! I think a lot of our friends plan to just hang out at the mall tonight.
LIA: Who? Oh yeah. I remember Lana. She’s the one with the scary-looking dog. I don’t want to hang out with that dog!
ALAN: Ha! You aren’t afraid of that little tiny dog, are you? Well, I’m sure Rover isn’t at the mall.
LIA: Actually, I’m headed to the mall later, anyway. There’s a huge sale going on. I think they’re open extra late.
ALAN: Great! Maybe I’ll see you there.
LIA: Sounds good. We’re both good shoppers! If I get there before you leave, maybe I’ll see you. After all, we aren’t leaving until we see all the sales. And I’m not leaving until I have some cute new shoes!

 

 

 

Edition details

• Publisher: Research & Education Association,U.S.
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738606766
• ISBN 13: 9780738606767
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288