ELTWeekly Vol. 5 Issue#1 | January 7, 2013 | ISSN 0975-3036
Eric H Roth, Toni W Aberson’s book ‘Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics’ is available in India for INR 1,096.
This innovative English as a second language textbook helps advanced English language learners develop conversation skills and improve fluency by sharing experiences, reflecting on their lives, and discussing proverbs and quotations. The ESL book includes 45 thematic chapters, over 1400 questions, 500 vocabulary words, 250 proverbs and American idioms, and 500 quotations. Designed for both adult education and intensive English language students, the conversations deepen critical thinking skills and speaking skills essential to success in community college and university programs. Compelling Conversations has been used in classrooms in over 40 countries, recommended by English Teaching Professional magazine, and enjoyed by thousands of English students.
Here are a few reviews from the readers:
I first tried this fantastic textbook with a high intermediate student that I tutor. I was amazed from the start at how naturally the conversation flowed. We were only halfway through the first set of questions when she decided to buy her own copy. Each of the 45 chapters includes a vocabulary section and list of around 12 to 15 classic quotations, along with between thirty and forty questions. The chapters can be used in any order, but I recommend starting with chapter one as it orients the students to the textbook and shows them how to get the most out of subsequent chapters. Either in the classroom or one on one, it’s accessible to intermediate students and challenges advanced students. The quotations, from Socrates to Shaw and from Picasso to Pete Rose, are all identified by name, when they lived, and what they did. This book is truly a treasure.
– Jenny Bruner
If I had to sum up what I loved about “Compelling Conversations” in one sentence, I would say that it contains the recipe for making anyone a great conversationalist!
– Power English Coach
This book is extremely rich in content. It contains deeper and more provocative questions than we usually find in advanced conversational texts. The authors provide an enormous variety of conversational topics, with 45 chapters and 30 or more questions in each chapter. ESL teachers will happily discover this book stimulates students to talk and encourages them to share their personal stories.
– Diane
The book is very well structured into four sections totaling 45 chapters. Each one of them is organized into conversations starters followed by vocabulary, proverbs and the indispensable quotations. One that really caught my attention was the Arab proverb “he who has health has hope and he who has hope has everything”
I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn while enjoying the process.
– Erika