What is your American Dream? This remains one of my favorite questions to ask new immigrants and American citizens.
I asked that question, followed by, “why” in a regular column for Easy English Times this month. I gave the last words to Toni Morrison, the Nobel-Prize winning author. “The function of freedom is to free somebody else.”
Easy English Times, published in California, ran an ESL conversation activity that concluded with that question, is a monthly newspaper written in simple English for these immigrants and future citizens. My co-author Toni Aberson and I have contributed a monthly column called “Instant Activity: Conversation” for the last 16 months. The editor adapts materials from our book Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for beginning and intermediate students.
While the Easy English Times website remains a work in progress, it contains a number of fine features for English teachers and tutors in adult education programs, including literacy and ESL. (Unfortunately, it doesn’t include a summary of the previous Conversation Activity columns yet).
You can check out the collection of free crossword puzzles and reading comprehension activities for each back issue of Easy English Times:
http://www.easyenglishtimes.com/monthly.html
The Easy English Times editors have also put together a solid EET recommends list of selective ESL resources (including Compelling Conversations):
http://www.easyenglishtimes.com/links.html
While Easy English Times remains relatively unknown outside California, the paper has earned an excellent reputation among CATESOL members, many California adult learners, and literacy instructors nationwide. (The editor and publisher of Easy English Times always give popular workshops at CATESOL regional and state conferences.)
Finally, subscription is $10 per year for each student per classroom inside the United States, and $15 per year for international English language learning students. Details here:
https://easyengl.securesites.com/subscribe.html?Category=newspapers
This thin, quality newspaper focuses on a vital niche in the newspaper world: America’s often overlooked and sometimes demonized new immigrants and adult education students. I’m proud to have been working with Easy English Times for over a year. Check it out!
Ask more. Know more. Share more. Speak more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
