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

COMPELLING CONVERSATIONS fills a real niche in which I have been teaching for some years now. It suits the needs of advanced-level ESL students and clients as well as native speakers of English who need to improve their communication skills. The book's questions and quotations are just as useful for writing exercises as they are for speaking exercises.

I have found the material in the book to be very accessible to highly accomplished adults without insulting their intelligence. The questions are much more thought-provoking than the ones generally found in standard ESL textbooks. Concrete thinkers can enjoy all the detail while abstract thinkers can go off on tangents inspired by the proverbs and quotations.

The format of COMPELLING CONVERSATIONS is very flexible and readable. The three- and four-page chapters are easily broken down into parts, which can be a godsend when filler material is needed for intensive ESL classes. I am already a big fan of this book, and expect to become an even bigger one the more I use it.

Super duper!! The quotes are outstanding: well-chosen & thought-provoking. The questions really do help my students get the ball rolling . . . to have compelling conversations of their own. Truly one of the most useful resources I have ever come across. Now, if I could only get my administrator to pony up for a set of 25 copies!

anyone can run out of ideas when teaching students from a non-English background... this will help you get right back in to reach out where you were loosing touch..

In my experience, adult learners tend to be wary of spending any more of their precious time on grammar lessons. Instead they want a chance to use what they already know to express themselves, and to learn more about other cultures. "Compelling Conversations: Questions & Quotations on Timeless Topics" provides just such opportunities, in an engaging and teacher-friendly format. The 45 chapters are arranged by topic to address universally relevant themes such as "Your Life" and "Modern Times". Each chapter takes a semi-structured approach by providing open-ended questions, targeted vocabulary, proverbs, and quotations. There are no rigid lesson plans here, only springboards to lively personal and inter-cultural exchange. From my own background in classrooms on three continents I can say that this rich collection of material would be an ideal addition to the toolkit of any teacher still inspired by the notion of free speech.

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.