Eric Roth

Speaking skills – especially in stressful situations – matter. Most quality Business English and VESL (Vocational English as a Second Language) programs provide extensive training and practice  in both short and long job interviews. Job interviews are stressful – especially for English language learners .  In fact, many adult, community college, and university ESL programs also include mock job interviews in the curriculum so ESL students can learn how to better answer simple and difficult... Read Full Story

Why are so many EFL Textbooks so bland, boring, and culturally tone-deaf?  Allow me to ask a more polite question. How can English teachers working abroad and international English textbook publishers both respect local cultures and create more engaging English classroom lessons? The challenge may be more complicated than you might suspect. A long, informative, and detailed exchange on a TESOL list serve recently focused on  the peculiar sensitivities of Saudi Arabian students. An... Read Full Story

Small American colleges often love their ambitious graduates. Wabash College , my alma mater and outstanding private liberal arts college in Indiana, certainly celebrates her favorite sons and treats them like stars. This fall’s Wabash Magazine advises graduates to “Look East, Young Man” as it celebrates the opening of the College’s new Asian Studies Center. Inside, the magazine editor describes a “Language of Opportunity” article as “Eric Roth ’84 recounts how his attempt to start a free... Read Full Story

“The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity, and the brute by instinct.” Marcus Cicero, Roman statesman and orator How do potential English teachers gain the experience and knowledge to become successful English teachers ? The answer is both more complicated and simpler than many people believe.  The internet provides exceptional opportunities for potential English teachers to become autotelic (self-directed) learners. Following your own... Read Full Story

Informational interviews have become a common practice among American professionals, but many English language learners remain unfamiliar with this type of networking and job search activity. ESL teachers can create both compelling classroom assignments and provide opportunities for ESL students to explore their career options by including informational interviews in their courses. As readers of this blog know, I have given several presentations at CATESOL conferences on “Informational... Read Full Story

How can you encourage your advanced ESL students to develop their speaking skills and tap their interest in our rapidly changing world? Create compelling classroom assignments that respect their intelligence, engage their curiosity, and model great speaking skills . Let your students be hunters, gathers, and presenters of new information to their classmates! Adding a homework assignment that requires ESL students to go the “ideas worth sharing” website at www.TED.com accomplishes all these... Read Full Story

“How can rural Chinese students develop their listening and speaking skills with very limited opportunities to speak with actual native speakers in person?” This question remains the billion person question! English language learners across Asia – in China, Thailand, and Vietnam – and the entire globe – confront this profound problem. As somebody who has only taught English for a limited time in a developing Asian country and has never had the pleasure of teaching English in China, I have... Read Full Story

“The beginning of wisdom is in the definition of terms.” Socrates (469 BCE–399 BCE) , Greek philosopher Getting students to speak can be a challenge, especially in ESL courses focused on academic writing. Flexibility remains essential. How does one, for instance, teach the difficult task of writing formal academic definitions in a communicative style? The challenge becomes more difficult if the “high intermediate ESL” class is really a broad multilevel ESL class. Just presenting the... Read Full Story

“To know and not do is to not know.” The Talmud Fluency requires practice. Our students also know that speaking English can be both satisfying and stressful. Therefore, we require speaking activities in class – and strongly suggest ways to speak more out of class. Our students want to be fluent, but they often hesitate to practice their speaking skills. Many students do not want to risk making mistakes, being misunderstood, and feeling awkward. Some prefer to silently take notes, and speak... Read Full Story

Sometimes we don’t see what is in front of our eyes. Today I learned a bit more about my own website from a fellow English teacher and friendly fan. A gentleman from Tennessee called my home, thanked me for the sample conversation materials , and asked some insightful questions about the updated Compelling Conversations website. I appreciate his call – and his giving a practical suggestion on how to improve the site for adult educators by adding clearer language. The influx of new... Read Full Story