English As A Second language ( ESL )

The activities below come from a book for English as a second language learners by Eric Roth and Toni Aberson. The title is “Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics.” See http://www.compellingconversations.com/ or email eric@compellingconversations.com

Managing stress
From the November/December 2011 issue

I. For some people, holidays are stressful times. Others feel stress because of work or family situations. Take turns asking and responding to these questions. Feel free to skip any questions that are awkward for you. Listen sympathetically.

1. What are some common reasons for stress in people’s personal lives?

2. Have you felt stress recently? Describe a recent stressful experience.

3. When is your workplace stressful?

4. Which school situations make you stressful at times?

5. Do you eat more or less when you are stressed? Do you have any special comfort foods?

7. Do you have high blood pressure or stomach ulcers?

8. How do others know when you are stressed? Do you yell? Do you become silent?

9. How can stress help you? Have you ever been inspired by stress?

10. Have you ever had a massage or been to a spa? Did it help you relieve stress?

11. What kind of music relaxes you and relieves stress?

12. Do you exercise or play sports to lessen your stress? How often? Does it help?

II. Proverbs - Pick your favorite and tell your partner when you would use it.

1. Go with the flow. -- American

2. Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. --Swedish

3. Look before you leap. --American

4. You can’t catch the cubs without entering the tiger’s den. --Korean

5. Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods. --Japanese

6. Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. --English

III. Quotations - Read the quotations below. Which ones make the most sense to you?

1. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” --Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian statesman

2. “There is no such thing as pure pleasure; some anxiety always goes with it.” --Ovid (43 BC - 18 AD), poet

3. “A problem is a chance to do your best.” --Duke Ellington (1890-1974), jazz composer and band leader

4. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” --Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd U.S. President

5. “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” --Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English novelist

6. “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” --Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), writer

VOCABULARY HELP*

awkward - An awkward situation is embarrassing and difficult to deal with.
blessing - A blessing is something good that you are grateful for.
comfort - If something offers you comfort, it makes you feel less worried or unhappy.
cubs - A cub is a young wild animal such as a lion, tiger, wolf, or bear.
den - A den is a home of certain types of wild animals such as lions, tigers or foxes.
fear - Fear is the unpleasant feeling you have when you think that you are in danger.
flow - If a number of people or things flow from one place to another, they move there steadily in large groups. Flow is also a noun.
handling - If you handle a problem or situation, you deal with it
leap - If you leap, you jump high in the air or jump a long distance.
lessen - If something lessens, it becomes smaller in size, amount, degree, or importance.
relieve - If something relieves an unpleasant feeling or situation, it makes it less unpleasant or causes it to disappear completely.
shadow - A shadow is a dark shape on a surface that is made when something stands between a light and the surface.
skillful - Someone who is skillful at something does it very well.
smooth - A smooth surface has no roughness, lumps, or holes.
sympathetically - If you are sympathetic to someone who is in a bad situation, you are kind to them and show that you understand their feelings. (sympathetically, adverb, means with sympathy)

*Definitions from the Collins COBUILD Intermediate Dictionary of American English, published by Heinle, a part of Cengage Learning © 2008 and the Newbury House Dictionary of American English 4th edition, by Rideout. © 2004 Monroe Allen Publishers. Heinle, a part of Cengage Learning enjoys an exclusive license with respect to the copyright and all the exclusive rights comprised in the copyright in the work and all revisions thereof.

From the July 2010 issue

Reading pleasures and tastes

Exchanging views: Reading is a solitary activity, yet it can bring people together in conversation. Interview your partner and exchange reading experiences.

1. What are some books that you have read and enjoyed?

2. Have you ever re-read a book? Which? Why? How many times?

3. Do you have a library card? Do you like to browse in bookstores?

4. Have you ever been in a book club? What kinds of books do/did you read in the book club?

5. Did your mother or other family member read to you as a child? Did you have a favorite story? What was it?

6. Where did you first learn to read? At home? At school?

7. What were your favorite books as a child? Who was your favorite author? Why?

8. As a teenager, did you have any favorite books, comics, or magazines? Can you describe them?

9. Which magazines or newspapers do you scan now? Why?

10. Who are some famous writers from your country?

11. Can you think of some movies that are adapted from novels?

12. Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction? Why?

13. Do you have a favorite writer or poet? Who?

14. Did you have to memorize any poems in school? Which ones?

15. Have your read any good biographies? Memoirs? Self-help books?

16. Are you reading a book now? What is it? Can you describe it?

17. Do you think books and magazines make good gifts? Why?

18. What book are you planning to read in the near future?

Quotations: Memorize your favorite quotation and author’s name. Share it with someone.

1. “Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body.” --Richard Steele (1672-1729), Irish writer

2. “No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.” --Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), British author/critic

3. “The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.” --Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), short story writer and poet

4. “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.” --Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), essayist

5. “I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books than a king without the desire to read.” --Thomas B. Macaulay (1800-1859), historian

6. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.” --Franz Kafka (1883-1924), novelist

7. “Any book that helps a child to form the habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”--Maya Angelou (1928-), American poet

8. “A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.” --Robertson Davies (1913-1995), Canadian novelist

On your own: Tell us about a book which is important to you. Tell the author, the title, and the reason why the book is important to you. Send your story to easyenglish@aol.com.

VOCABULARY HELP*
ax - An ax is a tool for cutting wood.
browse - If you browse in a store, you look at things in a casual way, in the hope that you might find something you like.
cottage - A cottage is a small house, usually in the country.
doubled - When something doubles or when you doubled it, it becomes twice as great in number, amount, or size.
essays - Essays are short pieces of writing on a particular subject.
lasting - You can use lasting to describe a situation, result, or agreement that continues to exist or have an effect for a very long time.
memoirs - A person’s memoirs are a written account of the people who they have known and events that they remember.
scan - When you scan written material, you look through it quickly in order to find important or interesting information.
solitary - A solitary activity is one that you do alone.
youth - Someone’s youth is the period of their life during which they are a child, before they are a fully mature adult.