Compelling Conversations

Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for ESL learners and teachers

Archive for August, 2008

What are you doing differently this semester in your ESL class?

Aug 30

Posted by Eric Roth in EFL, educational philosophy, forms and worksheets, teaching tips | No Comments

What are you doing differently this semester in your English class?

As a new semester begins, I face the familiar task – and pleasure – of selecting new materials and creating new forms for my oral skills class. One goal is to have students use the internet more; another to provide more opportunities for peer feedback on oral presentations.

Although I do not have a conversation class this semester, I do teach a high intermediate oral skills class that focuses on academic presentations. The students come from several Asian countries and are all graduate students – almost exclusively in engineering. Workplace surveys continue to identify communication skills, including speaking skills, as a top priority for employers – especially in engineering!

The class will include several informal, short presentations in addition to the longer, more formal presentations that receive a grade.  Whenever possible, I prefer to give students to receive fairly immediate feedback, from their peers and me, on their presentations.  Students, as a result, will read peer evaluations from the entire class after giving a short presentation like a product review, extended definition, or process description. To be effective, the form must be both simple and open… with some guidance. This collective feedback often validates instructor comments and prepares students to view their videotaped presentations in a more objective manner.

Here is my new form for peer evaluations of oral presentations.It emphasizes the positive aspects, inquires about what can be improved, allows more detailed observations, and provides a simple rating system. I have used a similar format with my engineering communication courses and expect that it will work in my ESL class too. Time will tell.

Feel free to copy, modify, or share the form to fit your ESL/EFL/speech classroom needs.

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<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Century Schoolbook”; mso-font-alt:Century; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.75in 1.0in .75in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

STUDENT: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________

TOPIC: ____________________________________________________

PEER: ____________________________________________________

GOOD TO SEE:

POINTS TO WORK ON:

BEST PART:

WEAKEST PART:

OTHER OBSERVATIONS/TIPS:

Please circle the appropriate overall rating:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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Conversation tip #15: Seek to Understand

Aug 23

Posted by Eric Roth in Conversation Tips, ESL, ESL worksheets, English class, VESL, academic matters, adult education, workplace English, workplace communication skills | No Comments


Seek to Understand

Have you ever seen two emotional people talk past each other? Both talk and neither listen. Both want to tell the other, and don’t want to hear – or understand – what the other person is saying. This happens too often in stressful workplaces.

Stephen Covey, author of the international bestseller called “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, advises people “to seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Following this traditional wisdom can improve workplace relationships and communication.

What are some techniques that can help understand other people? Here are some tips:

  • Listen first and avoid interrupting.
  • Pause before speaking.
  • Look people in the eye.
  • Be curious.
  • Ask “what” and “how” questions to get more information.
  • Keep the voice down. Stay calm. Talk slow.
  • Repeat or rephrase what people say to avoid misunderstandings.

What are some other tips to avoid misunderstandings or conflicts at work?

1.

2.

3.

4.

What are some advantages of staying calm at work?

1.

2.

3.

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Playing and Watching Sports

Aug 19

Posted by Eric Roth in Compelling Conversations, Conversation lessons, EFL, ELL, ESL, English class, adult education, teaching tips | No Comments

Have you been watching the Olympics? What has surprised you the most? Why? Who has inspired you? How?

The Olympics reminds us of heroism, sacrifice, excellence, and beauty. It can also spark many conversations.

Although I have not had the pleasure of teaching a conversation class recently, talking about sports always sparked many enjoyable exchanges – even among non-sports fans. This lesson, an except from Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for Advanced ESL students, remains a favorite.

Feel free to use it in your English classes. Let the conversations begin!

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PLAYING AND WATCHING SPORTS

“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility.”

Michael Jordan (1963-  ) NBA superstar

Chatting: Talking about sports can be a great ice-breaker. Just do it!

1. Did you play any sports as a child? Which ones? Which was your favorite?

2. Do you play any sports now? Which ones? Which is your favorite? Why?

3. Do girls and women play sports in your native country? If so, which ones?

4. What is the most popular sport in your native country?

5. What equipment or uniform is needed for this sport?

6. How is the game scored? How is a tie decided? What is considered a high score?

7. How long is a game? Are there referees? How do fans usually behave?

8. Which athlete is best known in your homeland? Which sport does he or she play? What do people admire about this athlete?

9. Does your native country participate in the Olympics? In which sports are your countrymen most competitive?

10. What are some team sports? Which do you play?

11. What are some individual sports that you know? Which do you play?

12. Do you prefer to play team sports or individual sports? Why?

13. Which is your favorite sport to watch? Do watch any annual televised sporting event?   Have you ever gone to a sporting event? How did the fans behave?

14. Are you a fan of any special team? What do you like about them?

15. What is their nickname e.g. Chicago Bulls, New England Patriots?

16. What does their nickname hope to convey about the team?

17. Does your favorite team have a main rival? Why? Is there a team mascot?

18. Which American athletes are well known in your native land? Which ones?

19. What are some of the ways that athletes train for competition?

20. What do you think is the difference between a game and a sport? Is chess a sport? Is weight lifting a sport? Is golf a sport? Is politics a sport?

21. Who is your favorite athlete? Why do you especially admire this athlete?

22. Do you buy a certain brand of shoes or clothes because of an athlete’s endorsement? If so, which brand? Which athlete?

23. Can you name some sports that involve animals?

24. Is there any sport that you don’t play now, but that you’d like to learn?

25. Do you think any sport rules should be changed? Why?

26. If you could, would you outlaw any sports? Why?

27. Are there any sports which are legal in your homeland, but illegal in the United States? Why? Do you think these sports should be legal?

28. What are the differences between the way athletes are treated in your native country and the way athletes are treated in the U.S.? Which ways do you think are preferable?

29. Are there any disadvantages to playing sports? Examples?

30. What are some advantages to playing sports? How do you feel while playing?

31. If you could play against any athlete in any sport, what sport would you choose?

32. If you could go back in time and attend any sporting event, which would you pick? Why?

33. What makes a great athlete? Who do you think is the greatest athlete of our time? Why?


Vocabulary: Do you know all these words? Can you add 4 more words to this list?

athlete score mascot equipment     competition          referee          nickname rival

endorse endorsement fan brand

Idioms: Try to guess the meanings of these idioms with your partner.
She’s a team player. She knows the game plan.

The biology test was a slamdunk.
The price you’re asking is in the ballpark.
When I caught Bob’s finger in the car door, he was a good sport about it.
You dropped the ball.

Quotations: Which quotations do you like? Can you add one more?

  1. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.”

Heywood Hale Broun (1888-1939), American sports journalist

  1. “If you don’t try to win, you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s backyard.” Jesse Owns (1913-1980), American with 4 Gold Olympic medals

  1. “Sports is the toy department of human life.”

Howard Cosell (1918-1995), sportscaster

  1. “Sports is like a war without the killing.” Ted Turner (1938-  ), founder of CNN

  1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra (1925-  ), American baseball coach

  1. “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.”    Jacques Barzun (1907-  ), American historian

  1. “The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”

Bruce Lee (1940-1973), film star

  1. “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” Mark Twain (1835-1910), humorist

  1. “Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport in the world.”
    Theodore Roosevelt (1859-1919), U.S. President, sportsman

  1. “…no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues.”

Joe Dimaggio (1914-  ), American baseball player

  1. “Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”

Jesse Owns (1913-1980), 4 time Gold medalist in 1936 Olympic Games

  1. “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ‘me’ for the ‘we.’” Phil Jackson (1945- ), L.A. Lakers’ coach

  1. “How can you think and hit at the same time?”

Yogi Berra (1925-), baseball player and coach

14. “There is no “I” in team, but there is in win.”

Michael Jordan (1963-  ) NBA superstar

EXTENSION: Find a picture of an athlete, professional or amateur, playing your favorite sport. Cut it out, bring it to class, and describe the picture and its context.

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How do you teach the difference between “make” and “do” in your English classrooms?

Aug 17

Posted by Eric Roth in ELL, ESL, English class, Vocabulary, adult education, teaching tips, tutoring tips | 2 Comments

How do you teach the difference between “make” and “do” in your English classrooms?

What do you do? What do you make? What’s the difference, anyway, between “make” and “do”?

These simple words cause lots of confusion for English language learners. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time teaching a very wide range of ESL classes this distinction. Many ESL students struggle with “make” and “do” – from advanced adult education and community college students to intermediate English students in summer courses and regular university courses. The large number of idioms further complicates the problem.

Here is a quick, imprecise guide that helps clarify the issue.

Look at some common expressions with “do”.

  • Do the dishes.
  • Do some chores.
  • Do your work.
  • Do exercises.
  • Do your best.
  • Do it over.
  • Do the report.

Do is used to describe an activity that you have to do, often over and over again. For instance, we “do the dishes” and “do the laundry” many times. Do also contains an element of duty and responsibility.

Now, take a look at some expressions with “make”.

  • Please make time.
  • You make dinner.
  • You make drawings.
  • You make decisions.
  • You make plans.
  • Your make reservations.
  • You make money.
  • You make friends.

Make is used to describe a creative activity or something you choose to do. You choose, for instance, to make plans, make friends, and make decisions. You have choices.

Why do we say “make dinner” if we have to do it over and over? Perhaps because cooking is seen more as a creative activity than a chore. But cleaning the table, and cleaning the dishes are just chores so we say “do the table” and “do the dishes.” That’s also why Americans say “make money” instead of “do money.” Making money is seen as both creative and a choice.

Idioms, of course, are cultural and sometimes less than completely logical. Sometimes Americans will use the verb make in a way that might seem strange, but I urge immigrants and international students to “make a decision”, “do your best”, and learn some practical workplace idioms using make and do.

Finally, I encourage students to work together in small groups and create their own list of idioms with make and do. When I’m lucky and have time, I like to ask students to come to the white board and write their collection of idioms on the board. Homework, of course, is asking them to choose 5-10 idioms and write complete sentences.

So how do you teach the difference between do and make to your English students?

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PBS Provides More Resources for ESL, EL/Civics Adult Educators

Aug 15

Posted by Eric Roth in EL Civics, adult education, resources | 1 Comment

ESL/Civics tip

Public Broadcasting System (PBS) continues to expand their valuable non-commercial services for listeners, including English teachers and ESL instructors.

Take the free online tour of PBS ESL/CivicsLink, an online professional development service for ESL teachers. The online system “helps instructors teach speakers of other languages effectively, strengthens cross-cultural awareness and integrates English literacy instruction and civics education.” This system also addresses core issues in teaching English and civics and encourages active engagement through project-based learning. It works for small-group study with peer mentoring and with both facilitated and nonfacilitated models.
Web: PBS Civics link for ESL instructors

This is just one of many tips, mostly for K-6 teachers, at Delta’s bigdealbook.com site for ESL/ELL teachers.

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What is the electoral college? Why does it matter?

Aug 14

Posted by Eric Roth in Citizenship, Compelling Conversations, EL Civics, ESL, adult education, conversation starters, resources | 2 Comments

How did George W. Bush actually become President of the United States?

After all, he received fewer popular votes for President than Al Gore, didn’t he? How could Al Gore win the popular vote and still lose the 2000 U.S. Presidential election? The short, unpleasant answer is that the popular vote doesn’t count – and the only vote that matters in electing presidents in the United States is the electoral college.

What is the electoral college? How many votes does your state have in the real United States presidential election? If you teach U.S. history, EL/Civics, or just vote in U.S. elections, you already know these answers – and your students and friends should too!

Check out the easy to use electoral college map hosted by the Los Angeles Times. This educational map game can become addictive – especially for people who are following the presidential race.  Among the many interesting features is that the default setting, based on the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, shows Senator McCain with a clear electoral college advantage over Senator Obama. Amidst the daily national polls, it’s easy for U.S. citizens – let alone adult immigrants and citizenship students – to forget this vital fact.

You can also go to the fine Wikipedia article on the peculiar history and strange institution called the United_States_Electoral_College. Bottomline: your vote matters less than it should in the 21st century!

By the way, I’m one of those folks that wants to abolish the electoral college as a sad legacy of both aristocratic ideals and slave-era logic. Direct elections work just fine. Since abolishing the electoral college seems very, very difficult, we should – it seems to me – at least switch from a winner take all system for each state to a fairer system where each congressional district chooses its own electors. Adopting this more transparent, honest “tiered” system would quickly reveal the huge divide between urban and rural America across the country. If Senator Obama wins the popular vote and still loses the electoral college, I expect more Democrats to rediscover their discomfort with the very undemocratic electoral college. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!

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Conversation tip #14: Ask a question

Aug 10

Posted by Eric Roth in Conversation Tips, Conversation lessons, adult education, conversation starters | 1 Comment

“Do you want to know how to start a conversation? Ask a question, and listen.”

Robert Bly (1926- ),  American poet and activist

That’s not a bad starting point, is it?

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ESL Conversation worksheet: Imperatives vs Polite Requests in the Workplace

Aug 4

Posted by Eric Roth in ESL | No Comments

Workplace Communication Tip 3: Politely Make Suggestions

Style matters – especially when we talk with our co-workers, consumers, patients, and supervisors. English language learners, immigrants, and far too many English speaking workers sometimes forget this basic principle of workplace communication.

Consider the difference in how these requests sound.

Shut off the TV!

Please turn off the TV?

Could you turn off the TV?

Would you please turn off the TV?

Close the door!

Shut the damn door!

Close the door; I need some privacy.

Would you please close the door; we can’t hear ourselves talk.

Could you get the door?

Can you close the door?

Sometimes, especially in an emergency, it is appropriate to warn other people with a short command.

Call the police!

Help!

Shut the door!

Volume, tone, and context help us recognize an emergency. Imperatives, or short command sentences, are powerful communication tools in these situations. The speaker gives an order; we listen.

I. When would it be appropriate to give a warning on your job? Please give 3 examples.

1.

2.

3.

But, usually, we also make our requests that are not emergencies. We can – and should- give suggestions in a kinder, gentler way. Unfortunately, too many people pretend that everything that annoys them is an emergency and speak in a rude, impolite way to co-workers. This sort of harsh speech can even be abusive.

We can, however, use many words to make quick requests and polite suggestions:

May Can Could Would Should Might

II. Please write a request that you might give or hear at work with these words.

  1. Can ______________________________________________?
  2. May ______________________________________________?
  3. Could _____________________________________________?
  4. Would_____________________________________________?
  5. Should_____________________________________________?
  6. Might _____________________________________________?

Adding the word “please” makes your requests and suggestions sound nicer too!

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Why Teach About Solzhenitsyn in English Classrooms?

Aug 3

Posted by Eric Roth in Citizenship, Compelling Conversations, EL Civics, ELL, ESL, English class, academic matters, adult education, favorite quotations, free speech, immigration | 2 Comments

“Own only what you can always carry with you; know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, an exceptional writer of rare courage, died today. English teachers, lovers of literature, and people of conscience will find his long obituary in the International Herald Tribune worth reading. Solzhenitsyn, like so many other intellectual and artistic figures, found refuge in the United States when he was exiled from his homeland for his writings. ESL, especially EL/Civics students, will also find his biography of considerable interest.

While far too many western leftists preferred to close their eyes to the nature and brutality of the Soviet slave labor system, Solzhenitsyn wrote novels that detailed the misery and repression created by the communists. His writings also made it impossible for even the most naïve leftist intellectuals to deny Stalin’s gulags – and how millions looked away. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970, but the Soviet authorities naturally prevented him from accepting his award. He spent 20 years in prison camps for his writings.

Do you have English language students from Russia? Do you know immigrants and refugees who spent their youth under the Soviet system? How did living under a communist dictatorship distort human relationships? Solzhenitsyn’s writings, once censored, may help you better understand some of the historical and cultural factors that have influenced your students and their worldviews.

Personally, I found working with Russian refugees and immigrants a very eye-opening experience. The more you learn about the old Soviet system, the more you appreciate the American tradition of individual rights and political freedom. Solzhenitsyn wrote in his 1967 novel, The Cancer Ward, about the consequences of silent conformity with Stalin’s crimes. “Suddenly all the professors and engineers turned out to be saboteurs — and they believed it? … Or all of Lenin’s old guard were vile renegades — and they believed it? Suddenly all their friends and acquaintances were enemies of the people — and they believed it?” Everyone, as in Nazi Germany, knew and didn’t want to know.

Free speech and free press remain under siege – in the United States, often from self-righteous idealists. Solzhenitsyn’s writings serve as a powerful rebuke to coercive utopians, and illuminate the power of personal choices under the most severe stress. ESL teachers, especially EL/Civics teachers in adult education, need to emphasize the beauty, rarity, and wisdom of the first amendment guaranteeing free speech and a free press.

English language learners might also find Solzhenitsyn’s strong nationalism of interest. He didn’t believe that western democracy worked everywhere, considered many parts of American culture to be corrupt, and advocated rebuilding a distinct Russian society. The tensions between universalism in American Bill of Rights and some versions of multiculturalism can and should be openly discussed in our English classrooms.

I chose Solzhenitsyn’s quote for the dedication page of Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics to remind myself – and others – to look beyond material possessions. We need to stay awake and remain sane – even if our society begins to sprout social cancers and asking simple questions becomes dangerous. Solzhenitsyn provides a model of courage and resistance to tyranny.

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