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Easy English Times, an adult education newspaper for English language learners published in California, adapts a chapter from Compelling Conversations each month. The editors selected “Reading Pleasures”, one of my favorite chapters, to run in their November-December...

Who makes the rules? Who chooses the rulers? Can citizens peacefully replace ineffective, unpopular leaders? Yes, we can! In the United States of America, voters enjoyed their opportunity to hire and fire their President. People voted, machines counted the votes, and millions of...

Keeping perspective remains a challenge, especially during stressful times.It’s easy to feel discouraged as we disappoint ourselves. Yet sometimes we reap benefits from our prior work that can remind us of small successes. This week, a very awkard and difficult work week,...

Do American immigrants want to learn English? Are the children of Spanish-speaking adult immigrants learning English? What are the recent trends in California and Los Angeles? A recently released Census Bureau report, based on the 2007 Census information, shows that – shock,...

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are,” advised President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. These words of solace often comfort me when I stress myself out trying to cram too much material into lessons. How can I cover everything that I want in a single...

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;...

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...

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....

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...

“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?