Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
A Conversation Book 1: English in Everyday Life, by Tina Kasloff Carver and Sandra D. Fotinos-Riggs, helps beginning level students to develop conversation fluency. The student-centered text and audio teach the vocabulary and life skills necessary for natural communication. Each of the ten units focuses on an essential aspect of daily life such as food, shopping, and work. Activities ranging from role plays to group surveys promise a lively class and help students achieve the language competencies needed to succeed at school and work. With chants by Carolyn Graham. New to this edition: *Easy-to-follow unit structure includes a Preview page, six 2-page lessons, Listening Practice, Review, and Assessment wrap-up.*Picture Dictionary openers introduce and contextualize the vocabulary of each lesson.*Model Conversations and Partner Interviews offer students opportunities to talk about their own lives.*Conversation Chants help students acquire the sounds, rhythms, and intonation of conversational English.*The Scope and Sequence highlights correlations to CASAS and state curricula.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
A GREAT basis for an adult conversational ESL class
Customer Rating:
Humorous drawings; variety of topics; basic, solid, useful vocabulary. I've used this book (and others in same series) for several years as a basis for the ESL classes I teach.
Hands down, the best entry level ESL text
Customer Rating:
My M.A. thesis was a comparison of adult, entry-level ESL textbooks; I give _A Conversation Book_ (ACB) a five-star rating.
What is does (that other books do not):
ACB treats learners as intelligent; while it is written for a true beginner, it does not over-simplify the topics that it covers.
ACB provides an above-average amount of pertinent vocabulary for each topic.
Each unit is about 10 pages long, with 6 smaller topics of 2 pages each. Individual topics within the units are independent, each with their own vocabulary list, making it especially helpful if student attendance is sporadic.
ACB draws on the wealth of existing knowledge that students bring with them. Conversation questions often asks students to share about their lives before coming to the U.S., whether it be regarding food, healthcare, or beliefs about gender and housework.
ACB avoids traditional grammar-based instruction.
ACB includes interactive activities: surveys, problem solving, and small group (4) challenges.
The text is colorful, and Andrew Lange does a great job of illustrating ACB, providing a sense of fun in the learning environment.
If you want a pedagogically sound, highly engaging ESL text, you need this book, and the following, ACB II.
Comes in handy
Customer Rating:
I'm teaching a small class, typically three to six students. Since the class is offered free through the public library, there is no textbook or formal structure. While this book has its limitations (the activities are designed with a large class in mind, and each section is basically a vocabulary list with suggested activities) I'm not always able to create a lesson plan, and introducing the vocabulary does get the students talking.
This book is very helpful in providing a ready-made lesson plan when I don't have a good set of ideas. However, to reinforce the vocabulary I need to design other activities. I use it in combination with Expressways, which has good reading selections and more written exercises.
Slightly disappointing - better for teachers than students
Customer Rating:
More a series of detailed vocabulary lists arranged by topic than an actual conversation book, this ESL book - approximately half of Conversation Book 2 - helps students find the appropriate word for everyday activities. This seems like a better resource for teachers than a book for students - given the price - and should be supplement by a worksheet of at least 10-15 questions. When I taught at a local community college, this was the assigned textbook and few students wanted to buy it. On the other hand, this book forced me to create many conversation worksheets to supplement the text.
conversation starters
Customer Rating:
I use this book in a beginning level English class for Hispanics. I work all day at a computer-related job and volunteer teach ESL two nights a week. I really do not have enough time to think of new conversation starters all the time. I find that this book used in conjunction with other material is ideal for low level adults. It provides a non threatening, informative introduction into American life. It is a fun way to learn the basics.
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