Customer Reviews

Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics- An Engaging ESL Textbook for Advanced Students

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These conversation starters are not just for ESL students but for anyone who is a bit shy or has trouble speaking around people. The questions are engaging and interesting and draws people into a variety of diverse subjects ranging from "Does your dog have a personality?" to "Have you ever had to hire/fire someone or work for a crazy boss?" The book also has may jokes, quotes and proverbs that often bring common day improper english into the mix. A must have book!

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.

As a longtime ESL student and medical professional, I wish I had this book when I was preparing for the "English Proficiency Exam" in London.
It goes beyond the boring dialogs of most ESL books and provides great current conversations that fit our crazy modern times.
For instances:
"Are sex, love and marriage linked in your mind?"
"What does your partner do that annoys you?"
"Will your partner love you with wrinkles?"
These are good questions!
I also like the proverbs:"If it's torn it can't be worn." (Persian)
Excellent book, great learning tool, absolutely at the top of the list in its category!

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!

In addition to 45 well-selected topics perfectly suited for casual or in-depth conversations, the authors provide excellent resources and guidelines that make a conversation run smoothly in an engaging, informative and thought provoking manner.

Each chapter consists of a list of questions - from specific to more abstract - , as well proverbs, sayings and quotations on a given subject. There is plenty of material appropriate for different levels of proficiency: from intermediate to advanced. I would even say that native speakers of English with somewhat limited social skills could benefit greatly by using this book.

"Compelling Conversations" encourages the reader to examine many different ways of thinking and teaches respect and genuine interest in other people's models of the world. It teaches active listening skills and offers gentle conversation reminders, such as be kind, explore, be open, be supportive, that help the reader set a positive intention for each interaction.

I am glad to have found a book that combines great content, conversational skills and psychology of empowerment.

Natasha Cooper, author of ESL how-to books "Scripts for Winning Jobs" and "The Telephone for Business and Daily Life".

What a delight! This conversation book gets ESL students talking. Each chapter poses 25 or so questions and shares a dozen fun quotes. Lots of great conversations starters like "How do you win the game of life?" Superb resource for "multi-level" Intermediate and Advance classes. An abundance of material that can be used both in and out of the classroom.

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.

Educators who find this book useful, would also enjoy What's Up America?, a cultural guide for Advanced ESL students.

Highly recommended.

When compelling conversations got into my hands I couldn't help but to think: I wish I had this book when I was learning English!

As English as a second language speaker, I can really tell the difference that compelling conversations has with other ESL text books: topics richness that takes learning at a higher level.

Not only you will feel motivated to improve your language skills, but you will have a rich-provoking theme about life to discuss and share with your tutor or classmates. That in turn makes you grow personally and you certainly will remember the discussed matter here when need it to apply into a situation out of the classroom. You will appreciate American culture as well as other's point of view.

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 Villafane

Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics- An Engaging ESL Textbook for Advanced Students

The other day, a colleague loaned me a copy of Eric Roth's and Toni Aberson's book COMPELLING CONVERSATIONS (Chimayo Press, Charleston, SC) to use in my English as a Second Language intermediate and advanced level conversation classes, and I was immediately sold. The topics are timely, meaningful, and presented in such a way as to stimulate immediate class participation. Unlike many ESL books designed to improve conversational skills, it does not inadvertently "look down" upon the English language learner by using simplistic topics and jargon. COMPELLING CONVERSATIONS is just that: compelling. I recommend it highly to those who wish to become more proficient in English conversation and to teachers of ESL who wish to present meaningful lessons to their students who need to improve their conversation skills and ability to think in English.

Marc Yablonka
ESL Instructor
Evans Community Adult School
Los Angeles Unified School District

Compelling Conversations is an effective tool for teaching conversational English to ESL students. However, it's combination of topic prompts to promote conversation and intriquing quotations to inspire thought make it a great tool for any composition instructor.

Having trouble coming up with a good prompt for your college comp. class free-write assignment? Compelling Conversations will provide you with seemingly endless choices.

I strongly recommend this book for any instructor interested in promoting conversation in and out of the classroom, and for any student interested in improving their English language conversational skills.

Advanced students who are in need of authentic conversation practice will benefit well from using this book. The content is varied, authentic, and relevant. The questions under each topic create a stable, thorough framework for personal sharing. The result is that students get meaningful practice and experience a really supportive atmosphere. I often use the book as a 'warm-up' tool to get students engaged in speaking, and it compliments the dryer ESL texts by having more depth.