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What do learners of English want when they start learning English language? Of course they want to be able to communicate with others in English. In other words, they want to speak English fluently. Compelling Conversations - Questions & Quotations for Advance Vietnamese English language learners textbook does just that ... it helps learners of English to speak English fluently...As an English teacher in Vietnam, I know how difficult is for Vietnamese learners of English to have a group discussion in English... All chapters of Compelling Conversation contain predefined questions to get students talking from the first moment. Great resources such as reproducible worksheets for students, surveys etc. can be found in every chapter of the book. Throughout the book, proverbs related to each topic are given to the students to discuss... these are the main reasons why I think a book like Compelling Conversations is indispensable for an English teacher. Dan Dumitrache eslvietnamzone.com October 2012 Compelling Conversations is a text that encourages multiculturalism, that is flexible enough to use for all ages of advanced English language learners, and that gives a personally relevant, tailored experience for advanced Vietnamese ELLs to formulate their opinions in anticipation of present and future communications with English speakers.... I recommend this book as a backbone for a lively conversation class. Perhaps my most favored aspect of the book arrives in the first few pages where the authors send a personal message to the students emphasizing their desire for the students to speak in English, although not by admonishing Vietnamese. This personal message to the student stressing the importance of both languages is paramount the inextricable link between language and culture must not be violated; instead bilingualism and bi-culturalism should be fostered within the student (Dicker, 2003). Roth and Aberson graciously encourage multicultural curiosity within this text by their interviewing techniques and soft cultural reminders to the students not to be intimidated of foreigners and to encourage one another... Compelling Conversations establishes a classroom culture revolving around respect... Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations for Advanced Vietnamese English Language Learners gently but firmly encourages advanced Vietnamese students to think critically about their own culture, and those of others around the world in English so that they can more effectively communicate in an advanced manner with other speakers of English. Sarah Elizabeth Snyder, Northern Arizona University Teaching English as a Second Language - Electronic Journal September 2012 Compelling Conversations is a great book to get my students to talk beyond the usual topics they find in ESL textbooks in Vietnam. The topics encourage students to think, discuss, and exchange ideas and their own personal interpretations of idioms, quotes and proverbs. This is a welcome break from the somewhat rigid or structured speaking and listening books that we have used before... If you want to have your students talking and conversing, this book is a must-have! This book is also a big help in exposing our ELL students in Vietnam to quotes that are often used in SAT type essay prompts. Leah Montano, ELD Program Coordinator APU International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Roth and Aberson return with the next installment of their Compelling Conversations series ... presenting conversation topics, activity ideas and interesting quotes for Vietnamese students of the English language. ..The book has a number of strengths and the authors are veteran teachers whose experience is reflected in the book's content. The conversation topics are useful and the proverbs, quotes and vocabulary are all appropriate for advanced Vietnamese EFL students. Kirkus Reviews

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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), and holds the title of Master Lecturer. He also consults English language schools on communicative methods to effectively teach English, and writes and edits ESL/EFL books for English language learners with Chimayo Press. Given a full scholarship as a Lilly Scholar, Roth studied philosophy and American history at Wabash College (1980-1984), and received his M.A. 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). USC promoted Roth to the title of Master Lecturer in 2013. Roth co-authored Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics in 2006 to help English language learners increase their English fluency. Recommended by English Teaching Professional magazine, the advanced ESL textbook has been used in over 50 countries in English classrooms and conversation clubs. Easy English Times, an adult literacy newspaper, has published a monthly column, Instant Conversation Activities, based on the book since 2008. The first specific version for a particular country, Vietnam, was published in 2011. Compelling American Conversations: Questions and Quotations for American English Language Learners, designed to help American immigrants develop both academic vocabulary and strengthen speaking skills in English, came out in 2012. 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 and TESOL conference presentations and led many English teacher training workshops. He writes short reflective essays, reviews ESL/EFL related books and apps, and shares teaching tips at CompellingConversations.com/blog. Roth looks forward to learning something new today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. After 35 years of teaching English and supervising English teachers, 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. Aberson wrote It's a Breeze: 42 Lively ESL Lessons on American Idioms (2012). This collection of 42 short English lessons focuses on specific American idioms and common phrases. The thematic chapters are organized into seven categories: Let's Get Started, Fun with Food, Body Language, Animal Wisdom, Colorful Language, How's the Weather?, and Where Are You?. Each concise self-contained chapter explores a single American idiom with clear definitions, sample sentences, short readings, comprehension checks, vocabulary lists, writing activities, and conversation questions for adult students. The key in a classroom is engagement, Aberson says, and English students become interested and excited when they're learning about the daily stuff of life. When they are thinking and writing and talking about their real lives-food, jobs, family, homes, sports, movies-that's when they learn the language. Learning English is not easy. It can be a real challenge, but it can also be fun and stimulating. That's what I'm aiming for-the real life and the fun that stimulates ESL students so they want to learn more. They want to jump in.

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