
Amazon Prime Free Trial
FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button and confirm your Prime free trial.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited FREE Prime delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
-43% $12.89$12.89
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Good
$11.60$11.60
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: LAAB Group
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the authors
OK
Compelling American Conversations: Questions and Quotations for Intermediate American English Language Learners
Purchase options and add-ons
- ISBN-100982617895
- ISBN-13978-0982617892
- PublisherChimayo Press
- Publication dateJuly 2, 2012
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions8.5 x 0.29 x 11 inches
- Print length136 pages
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Compelling American Conversations offers relevant practice for intermediate ESL students...We recommend this fluency-focused book for English language learners." - Easy English Times
"One of the reasons Compelling American Conversations is so useful is due to the authors' careful attention to the feedback they received from teachers and students regarding one of their previous works. Like all good instructors they have modified their curriculum to better serve their readers, and their extra effort has resulted in one of the best ESL textbooks on the market today for non-beginners. ... There will never be an ESL textbook that will give every student the confidence to converse, but this one makes a valiant attempt. RECOMMENDED." - John Roper, U.S. Review of Books
"How can so much learning be in just one book? Compelling American Conversations is all that an ESL teacher or student needs. With clear, easy to follow directions, students learn necessary details about American English and culture, practice critical thinking, and expand vocabulary, as they converse in real, natural adult English. Included in the 'Search and Share' component are marvelous lessons on using the Internet...The book is fun and stimulating and, fortunately, very accessible for the intermediate learner." - Planaria Price, author Life in the USA and Realistically Speaking
"... Compelling American Conversations (like Roth's previous book, Compelling Conversations), is a gold mine--a rich, stimulating learning environment providing virtually endless possibilities for lively conversation which will enhance students' communications skills quickly and enjoyably. Compelling American Conversations is the book I needed when I was a conversation group organizer and is the book I highly recommend to any English teacher in a similar position today." - Carl W. Hart, Author of Rocket English Grammar and The Ultimate Phrasal Verb Book
From the Author
Compelling American Conversations, an intermediate American English textbook, will help students feel more comfortable in English and improve fluency.
The many conversation activities will help English students to:
- Ask clear, simple questions
- Listen to each other and respond to questions
- Become more comfortable speaking English
- Use common conversation starters
- Learn how to continue conversations on many current and timeless topics
- Discover and use new vocabulary words
- Memorize some American sayings and some old proverbs
- Discuss ideas by studying classical and modern quotations
- Express your opinions and support your statements
- Find and share Internet resources about living in the United States
- Speak English with greater confidence
- Enjoy learning about your classmates and yourself
Compelling American Conversations explicitly emphasizes American language, culture and values. The primary audience is newcomers to the United States, and recent and not-so-recent immigrants who may be studying at an American high school, adult school, community college or university. We strongly believe that all immigrants deserve a quality education that allows them to express themselves, develop their English language skills, and deepen their critical thinking skills."
We hope that with Compelling American Conversations, American English language learners will ask more questions, speak more in their workplaces, and create their own compelling conversations - inside and outside English classes.
- Eric Roth, Toni Aberson, and Hal Bogotch,
Co-authors, Compelling American Conversations
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Highlights of his career include: teaching the first Saturday morning citizenship class in Santa Monica (1994); directing the CES Adult Education Center (1995-1998); working with international students in summer IEP programs at UCLA Extension (1997-2000, 2003-2005); teaching USC engineering students in Madrid, Spain (2007) and Paris, France (2008); and directing the APU International High School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2009).
After 35 years of teaching English and supervising English teachers, co-author, Toni Aberson (M.A. English; M.A. Psychology and Religion) believes that a lively classroom is the optimal learning environment. "If people are thinking, sharing, and laughing, then they're learning," notes Aberson. "The mere fact that those adults are in an English classroom attests to their courage and their determination to learn."
"Adult English students bring a wealth of interesting experiences with them," continues Aberson. "They bring the world into the classroom. The challenge for English teachers is to put students at ease and encourage them to practice English. What better way than to ask students about their lives? I love teaching English."
Co-author, Hal Bogotch, teaches English as a Second Language at Nexon America in El Segundo. He is a proud graduate of U.C. Berkeley. Since 1996, Bogotch has taught ESL to adult immigrants, international high school students, and California middle schoolers. He has also taught Computer Skills to senior citizens, nurses, exceptional/special needs children, and garment industry entrepreneurs.
Product details
- Publisher : Chimayo Press (July 2, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 136 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0982617895
- ISBN-13 : 978-0982617892
- Item Weight : 11.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.29 x 11 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #273,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #347 in Dictionaries (Books)
- #538 in Foreign Dictionaries & Thesauruses
- #777 in English as a Second Language Instruction
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Eric H. Roth teaches international graduate students the pleasures and perils of writing and speaking in English at the University of Southern California (USC), and holds the title of Master Lecturer. He also created the ELT textbook series, Compelling Conversations and Chimayo Press. Eric consults English language schools on communicative methods.
In 1992, Roth taught his first English as a Second Language class at a refugee center for immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and became hooked. Since then, Roth has taught English to high school, community college, adult, and university students from five continents and over 60 countries. He has also taught university writing courses in Spain (2007) and France (2008), and directed an elite private high school in Vietnam (2009) during summer breaks.
Roth co-authored 'Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics' in 2007 to help English language learners increase their fluency in English. Recommended by English Teaching Professional magazine, the advanced ESL textbook has been used by English language learners and English teachers in over 60 countries. Since then, he and his co-author Toni Aberson have added new titles to the series: Compelling American Conversations (2012) with Hal Bogotch and Compelling Conversations for Advanced Vietnamese English Language Learners (2011). Roth also edited Aberson's latest book titled: It's a Breeze: 42 Lively Lessons on American Idioms that introduces common expressions to high-beginning students.
In 2015,Roth also co-authored 'Compelling Conversations - Japan: Questions and Quotations for High-Intermediate Japanese English Language Learners' and 'Compelling American Conversations -Teacher Edition: Commentary, Supplemental Exercises and Reproducible Speaking Activities.' More recently, Roth co-authored 'Compelling Conversations-Vietnam: Speaking Exercises for Vietnamese Learners of English' with Teresa X. Nguyen in 2017. The two authors collaborated again in 2019 with 'Creating Compelling Conversations: Reproducible Search and Share Activities for English Teachers' and a team of experienced ESL/EFL teachers. All the titles are available as both paperbacks and many as ebooks.
Roth and Aberson also co-author a monthly column in Easy English Times, an adult literacy newspaper, that has published "Instant Conversation Activities" based on their conversation textbooks for over a decade.
A member of the USC faculty since 2003, Roth is an active member of numerous professional Organizations including: California Association of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL); the International Professors Project (IPP); Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and the International Society for Education Leadership (ISIL). Roth has given several CATESOL and TESOL conference presentations and led many teacher training workshops. Roth was a plenary speaker at the Virtual ELT Summit in 2020 and gave a keynote presentation at the Virtual ELT Summit 2021. He has recently expanded the micro-sized Chimayo Press to help friends publish books for global souls and sophisticated English language learners.
A collector of vintage postcards, old/odd books, and travel experiences, Roth has enjoyed conversations in over 40 countries so far. He looks to seeing more of our magnificent world in the coming years.

Hal Bogotch co-authored Compelling American Conversations, a conversation book for intermediate English language learners.
A proud graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Bogotch earned his first teaching credential in 1994. He has taught a dazzling array of subjects; his all-time favorite is ESL. With Global Service Corps in 1996, Bogotch taught English to young Thai Buddhist monks at Wat Doi Suthep, which was an unforgettable experience.
Bogotch currently teaches English as a Second Language with OneWorld Language Solutions. He often contributes poems to The Free Venice Beachhead, a monthly newspaper.
Bogotch's poems have also appeared in Campus Circle, Rattle, Sierra Nevada College Review, onthebus, and The Lucid Stone. His own chapbook titles include: The Mockingbird Speaks, The Dance of Life, and Growing Up Through the Cracks.
Bogotch lives in Los Angeles, California with children's book author/illustrator, Laura Lacámara, and their daughter.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017This book offers new vocabulary, pronunciation tips, and a plethora of conversation topics without the rigidity of many other ESL books. The text itself carries a conversational tone, engaging its user/the student.
The "Search and Share" activity at the end of each chapter provides students with an opportunity to share knowledge gained outside of the classroom. It allows students to practice learner autonomy, as well as communication skills, as students' individual responses can be shared with each other. This activity also gives the students and the instructor a chance to exchange ideas in a conversational and natural manner; since the topics and themes are accessible and do not require any specialized knowledge (e.g., "Chatting: In Person or Online"), students will have the opportunity to express themselves and present their own perspectives, something that is culturally relevant when conversing with Americans.
The frequent use of proverbs and quotes in this text provides yet another platform for easily encouraging discussions and cultural exchange among students. Overall, this is a textbook that focuses on real-world conversation skills while also teaching vocabulary and pronunciation. It is ideal for use in both ESL and EFL contexts.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2019A good book to supplement the conversation portion of the TESL course. I appreciate being able to purchase a digital copy for one dollar, make reading and preparation manageable "on the go." 😃
- Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2016I teach private ESL lessons. My students who are intermediate or above or who especially want to focus on speaking love this book because it isn't simply grammar drills and memorizing fake conversations and phrases. They like puzzling out the meanings of the quotations and proverbs and especially talking about all of the conversation questions. Recommended for one-on-one or group work.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2018Nice book, I only expected to find more phrasal verds and idioms. Probably I would have needed the upper one.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2015Finally...an ESOL book that is not insulting to my international, professional, and well-travelled students! So glad a student brought this book to class from another college. The subject matter is relevant and some of the questions are thought provoking. Thank you Eric H. Roth.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2019I did not expect such preponderance of exercises using quotations. Even intermediate English language learners find puzzling out the meaning of quotations such as: "Dwell in possibility" by Emily dickinson or "Character is much easier kept than recovered" by Thomas Paine. While some of the conversation starters are useful, as a whole I am disappointed in the book as a teaching/learning tool.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2019ok
- Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2017Really like the book!
Top reviews from other countries
-
valentinaReviewed in Italy on March 7, 20144.0 out of 5 stars molti spunti di conversazione!
il prodotto è un ottimo aiuto per i docenti di lingua che hanno bisogno sempre di nuovi spunti di conversazione da porporre ai loro studenti (livello elementary fino ad advanced). Ogni capitolo è suddiviso in domande su un argomento specifico a partire dai saluti fino al colloquio di lavoro. Poi segue una parte di vocabulary e molto interessante una parte con i proverbi e modi di dire legati a quel topic.Ho iniziato ad usarlo subito e si è rivelato davvero utitlissimo per i miei corsi. I temi sono molto attuali.
MartuzReviewed in Italy on November 16, 20184.0 out of 5 stars Useful
This book is very useful for anyone trying to improve their English or, in my case, teaching students English through conversation.







