Compelling Conversations

Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for ESL learners and teachers

Posts Tagged workplace English

Are you prepared? Are you ready? Aren’t you nervous?

May 23

Posted by Chimayo Press in Conversation Tips, EFL, ESL, ESL/EFL teachers' resources, Speaking Skills, Teaching English in Vietnam, VESL, adult education, conversation starters, educational philosophy, teaching tips, workplace communication skills | 2 Comments

During the last hectic week of international travel and professional development presentations, I’ve been heard a few simple questions over and over.

  • Are you ready?
  • Are you prepared?
  • Aren’t you nervous?
  • Do you have enough time to do that?
  • When are you going to sleep?

Friends – and close relatives – ask these questions out of concern and curiosity.  I appreciate their questions and enjoy our discussions.  My confidence can lead me to underestimate the difficulty of  projects, tasks, and chores. I should manage time better, probably reduce my commitments, and prioritize more. Yet that’s easier said than done when pursuing multiple projects and working with people on different continents. I also like my work, and appreciate new challenges.  And I can draw on a considerable amount of experience as a  world traveler and English teacher. Despite approaching deadlines, I tend to feel strangely comfortable.

For instance, this week I left Los Angeles to begin a new position creating a Practical and Academic English program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Packing for a ten-week summer trip takes considerable time. So does writing up detailed course descriptions, planning professional development workshops, and writing a high school graduation speech. Tracking Compelling Conversations book orders, planning website and blog changes, and interviewing ESL/EFL teachers also takes time. So sleep becomes a lower priority and friends keep asking those few simple, reasonable questions.

They are good questions and fine conversation starters too. In our often-hectic world, many people make the same “good mistakes” as me. As a result, these simple questions seem about time management seem timeless. English teachers can – and I’d suggest should – introduce these practical questions to their students. Business English teachers and workplace instructors, of course, frequently include entire lessons to personal time management skills. Letting students ask these questions and interview each other will also lead to interesting classroom conversations.

By the way,  despite my last minute style, I was actually quite prepared. I quickly packed, arrived safely in Vietnam and lead an engaging workshop on creating autotelic materials for EFL students.  Experience and expertise help – even on limited sleep!

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CATESOL Conference Highlights Practical ESL Teaching Techniques

Sep 30

Posted by Eric Roth in CATESOL, California, Compelling Conversations, EL Civics, ESL, English class, Los Angeles, VESL, adult education, workplace communication skills | 6 Comments

Are you looking to share practical techniques with your fellow English teachers? What works in your ESL classroom? What tends to work in other ESL classrooms? Why?

The Los Angeles Regional CATESOL conference, titled “WWW. What Works and Why” at Biola University on October 25 features over 60 workshops and panel discussions. The annual event is expected to attract over 500 ESL professions from K-12 classes, adult education, IEP, and community college and university programs. CATESOL members receive a discount on the conference fee.

Do you live in Southern California? Do you have plans for October 25th yet? Visit
http://www.lacatesol2008.org/ if you are interested. This regional conference is larger than many state conferences and reflects the importance of studying English to immigrants in Los Angeles – especially during economically difficult times.

By the way, I will be giving a 45-minute presentation titled “Techniques for a More Democratic Classroom” and a joint presentation titled “Creating Win-Win Workplace English Programs That Work for Both Employers and Employees.”

In my solo presentation, I will review classroom practices like tailoring assignments for individual students, effective peer evaluations, and organizing students to create classroom materials. Some exercises come from Compelling Conversations, but most exercises are practices that I’ve developed over time in both writing and speaking courses.

The second presentation, with Troy Parr, comes out of a series of vocational ESL workshops that we designed for an important union for healthcare workers, the SEIU, in Los Angeles. (The director of their workplace educational programs read Compelling Conversations., and contacted me. I brought in Troy, who wrote his thesis on best practices in workplace ESL programs.) We emphasize the importance of creating practical, participant specific exercises that both introduce new workplace vocabulary and provide many opportunities to speak, write, and reflect on workplace issues – in English. These workshop exercise such as rewriting forms, writing memos, and giving presentations on safety tips also help students develop their language skills for beyond their immediate job.

Naturally, I hope you can make the LA Regional CATESOL conference. See you there?

For more information:

http://www.lacatesol2008.org/

http://catesol.org

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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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