Compelling American Conversations

Do you grammar English? What a silly question! Do you speak English? That's a better question. Conversation skills matter.

That's why Compelling American Conversations: Questions and Quotations for Intermediate American English Language Learners emphasizes speaking skills first and lets English students learn by doing. This flexible ESL textbook helps American immigrants and international students develop their fluency skills and academic vocabulary through conversation exercises and natural questions. Each chapter includes two sets of conversation questions, vocabulary review, short writing exercises, paraphrasing exercises with proverbs, a discussion activity around pithy quotations, and an online “Search and Share” activity. Focusing on both daily experiences and American culture through proverbs, quotations, and speaking exercises, this engaging ESL textbook helps intermediate English language learners explore their lives, learn common American sayings and expressions, and develop vital discussion skills.

The 15 topical chapters include: Opening Moves; Going Beyond Hello; Making and Breaking Habits; Studying English; Being Yourself; Choosing and Keeping Friends; Playing and Watching Sports; Talking About American Television; Celebrating American Holidays; Being Stylish; Handling Stress; Practicing Job Interviews; Valuing Money and Finding Bargains; Exploring American Cities and Seeing Our World With Photographs. The “Resources and Notes” appendix includes supplemental worksheets. English teachers, English tutors, and ESL students find this additional material helpful. Designed primarily for community college ESL and adult education students, this flexible ESL textbook can be used by high school English language learners (ELL) and intensive English programs (IEP).

Compelling American Conversations, is the third title in the fluency-focused Compelling Conversations series. American immigrants, adult refugees, and future Americans by choice will find the book exceptionally helpful in understanding their new home. This textbook helps readers become more competent and confident speakers of American English. "For English teachers who wish to help their students improve their communication skills, Compelling American Conversations is a gold mine," writes Carl Hart, author of The Ultimate Phrasal Verb Book. "Compelling American Conversations fills an important gap in adult ESL where speaking skills often receive too little attention," adds Luis Coloma, an adult education specialist. "Students want to speak more English in their classes and learn how to have real conversations with their American neighbors and co-workers. Compelling American Conversations not only gives adult ESL students many chances to discuss their lives in their English classroom, but it helps immigrants create quality conversations in English outside of school too." Lisa Horvath, English teacher and EFL author, concludes "Compelling American Conversations: Questions and Quotations for Intermediate American English Language Learners is ideal for students preparing for life in the USA or for older students already living in the USA... With this book students develop essential listening skills and the ability to converse about relevant topics." (TESOL MWIS 2019 newsletter).

The authors, Eric H. Roth and Toni Aberson, have decades of experience teaching English to high school and university students. Roth currently teaches graduate students at the University of Southern California. Toni Aberson volunteers as an English tutor in her retirement. Hal Bogotch, who also contributed to the popular ESL textbook, tutors adult students in Los Angeles and supervises literacy tutors for the Los Angeles Public Library. Easy English Times, an adult education newspaper, has used edited materials from Compelling American Conversations in Conversation Lessons column for years.

Eric H. Roth teaches international graduate students the pleasures and perils of academic writing and public speaking in English at the University of Southern California (USC). He also consults English language schools on communicative methods to effectively teach English. Since 1992, Roth has taught English to high school, community college, adult, and university students. Highlights of his career include: teaching the first Saturday morning citizenship class in Santa Monica (1994); directing the CES Adult Education Center (1995-1998); working with international students in summer IEP programs at UCLA Extension (1997-2000, 2003-2005); teaching USC engineering students in Madrid, Spain (2007) and Paris, France (2008); and directing the APU International High School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2009). Roth is also the co-author of Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics, an advanced ESL textbook used in over 50 countries. Easy English Times, an adult literacy newspaper, has published a monthly column "Instant Conversation Activities" based on the book since 2008. Compelling American Conversations for Intermediate English Language Learners is the third book in the fluency focused ESL series. A member of the USC faculty since 2003, Roth is a member of numerous professional Organizations including: California Association of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL); the International Communication Association (ICA); the International Professors Project (IPP); and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Roth has given TESOL and CATESOL conference presentations and led many teacher training workshops. Co-author Toni Aberson taught English to adult, university, and high school students for 35 years. She also supervised high school English teachers for 15 years and believes that a lively classroom is the optimal learning environment. In 2011, Aberson authored It’s a Breeze: 50 Lively ESL Lessons on American Idioms, which focuses on common expressions in real-life situations. Co-author Hal Bogotch currently teaches English as a Second Language at Nexon America in southern California. Since 1996, he has taught English to adult immigrants, international high school students, and California middle school students. Bogotch has also contributed many poems to several literary publications.