Compelling Conversations: 11 Selected Chapters on Timeless Topics for Level 1 English Language Learners Paperback - 2011

Eric H. Roth teaches international graduate students the pleasures and perils of academic writing and public speaking in English at the University of Southern California (USC). He also consults English language schools on communicative methods to effectively teach English. Given a full scholarship as a Lilly Scholar, Roth studied philosophy and American history at Wabash College (1980-1984), and received his MA in Media Studies from the New School (1988). Since 1992, Roth has taught English to high school, community college, adult, and university students. 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). 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 in over 40 countries in English classrooms and conversation clubs. A member of the USC faculty since 2003, Roth is a member of numerous professional Organizations including: California Association of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL); the International Communication Association (ICA); the International Professors Project (IPP); and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Roth has given several CATESOL conference presentations and led many teacher training workshops. Roth first visited Vietnam in 2000, and has returned three times to consult and teach. He looks forward to learning more about Vietnam and engaging in many compelling conversations with Vietnamese in the future. Toni Aberson taught English to adult, university, and high school students for 35 years. She also supervised high school English teachers for 15 years, and believes that a lively classroom is the optimal learning environment. In 2011, Aberson authored another book for ESL students. Lively ESL Lessons: American Idioms and More focuses on real life expressions and situations.