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Sophisticated English for Global Souls
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29
MAY
2018

Review: What Should Every College ESL Student Know?

“The most important thing we learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.” —Haruki Murakami (1949–), Japanese author What should every ESL student know? Beats me. “One size fits all” philosophies often seem a bit strange to me. Can...
23
SEP
2014

Q&A with Dennis Hackin, Hollywood writer about Android Roy

Hollywood writer Dennis Hackin and three-time Chimayo Press author, has always possessed a passion for writing, prolifically producing plays, movies, novels, and poems since the age of eight. Hackin’s Bronco Billy was adapted into a movie starring and directed by Clint...
15
SEP
2014

Chimayo Press presents Android Roy by Dennis Hackin

Chimayo Press, publisher of Compelling Conversations books, branches out to sci-fi   “What is consciousness? What is all this? Why do I think? And then you look at computers and computers think–are we programming the computers or are they programming us?” -Dennis...
19
AUG
2014

‘Teaching History With Film’ encourages use of film through examples, lesson plans

How and when to use film in classrooms, and why “The difference between life and the movies is that a script has to make sense, and life doesn’t.” -Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909-1993) American screenwriterFilm remains a powerful, if imperfect, tool for providing revealing glimpses...
16
JUL
2014

James T. Keating’s “Writing Modern English” tackles the idiomatic, confusing and wrong

Japanese English Learners and many English teachers can greatly benefit from this logical guide to clear, modern writing “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” –Mark Twain (1835-1910)...
12
JUL
2014

‘English is Stupid’ spotlights new teaching, learning approach

Judy Thompson discusses how to overcome English as a crazy language “English is a funny language that explains why we park our car on the driveway and drive our car on the parkway.” ―American sayingESL teacher and pronunciation maven Judy Thompson’s new book boasts a surprising...
11
JUL
2014

“English in Los Angeles” inspires conversation with splashes of color

Piera Fumagalli fuses vocabulary, grammar and idioms with LA “People cut themselves off from their ties of the old life when they come to Los Angeles. They are looking for a place where they can be free, where they can do things they couldn’t do anywhere else.̶...
23
MAR
2014

Savvy Tips to Score Higher on the TOEFL iBT Speaking Section

What do you do with a problem like the TOEFL iBT test? For worse or for better, the TOEFL test remains the standard assessment of English for international students planning to attend American colleges and universities. As a result, many international ESOL (English Speakers of...
15
AUG
2013

What Three Tips Would You Share with Novice ESL / EFL Teachers?

What three tips would offer new a ESL/EFL teacher? Hall Houston, author of Provoking Thought: Memory and Thought in ELT, posed this question to several prominent English language trainers and teachers last year. Sean Banville, Russell Stannard, Chia Suan Chong, Nik Peachey, Scott...
15
DEC
2010

Dwell in Possibility: Discussing Books Enlivens ESL Classes

Reading remains a great pleasure and a helpful guide. Literature can also enliven our ESL classrooms, and discussing our favorite books opens up new possibilities. The humanities should be for everyone - including English language learners. Let us, as Emily Dickinson advised,...
12