Hello Jenny,
It's such fun to exchange ideas via listservs; thank you for putting this
question out there.

I'm curious about the andragogy behind the planning for the course, or if
there are institutional mandates to use a required text for each student?
I've taught various levels of conversation classes -- ESOL and EFL --
and started a non-curricular "Dialogue Cafe" program (highly successful; in
its sixth year now), and I believe conversation is best done without the
books!
The goal for me is a student-centered class with the students doing most of
the talking.
With this in mind, no texts, but prompts work best for me.
Some of my favorite tools/resources are (not necessarily in preferential
order)

*incorporating drama theory/practice [are you familiar with TESOL's EVO's
(electronic villages online)?  They're going on now -- are free -- are six
weeks of joyous interaction and amazing wisdom and experiences shared by
colleagues:  three I am participating in now are:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EVO_Drama_2008/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TeachingwithPowerPoint/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogging4educators/

Pro Lingua Publishers http://www.prolinguaassociates.com/Pages/catalog.html
*ESL Miscellany is what I call  my "ESL Bible" -- it seems to be a
springboard to lesson planning for any level -- and re-inspires me each time
I peruse it.
*http://www.prolinguaassociates.com/Pages/cibook.html   Conversation
Inspirations -- an excellent, small, lightweight book to tuck in your bag
and 'always' have with you -- will  help you get students talking again even
on your worst day!
Cathy's Conversation Cards (also Job Interview Cards) are amazing -- I love
using them -- STUDENTS love using them --
http://www.altaesl.com/Detail.cfm?CatalogID=868&CFID=1450657&CFTOKEN=261

I often will use surveys that I create (simple ones) in www.surveymonkey.com to
find out what the students want to talk about.
I like to use Moodles (interactive course/learner management systems --
www.moodle.org   [www.abavirtual-learningcenter.org]
and am planning to experiment with blogs with learners to keep the
conversation practice going (in writing primarily, but with the
amazing (many free or low-cost) audio and video tools available now, it's
relatively easy to incorporate virtual voice and images too --

What a world we live in; such opportunities!

Hope some of this is useful, and not tooooo overwhelming,

Holly


On 1/24/08, Jennifer Gore <jgore at readingconnections.org> wrote:

>

>  Could anyone recommend a great resource to use in an ESL conversation

> group? There are numerous ones available, and with a limit on spending, we'd

> like to make the best choice possible. Some of the ones we've seen

> advertized but not reviewed follow.

>

> Thank you.

>

>   *Getting Together: An ESL Conversation Book<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0155295985/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3J8ZVAQ79AVXS&colid=2NMAKB9IHXLDV>

> *  by Susan Stempleski (Author), et al

>

>   *First Discussion Starters: Speaking Fluency Activities for Lower-Level

> ESL/EFL Students

> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0472088955/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1RKXTGAVW0QMO&colid=2NMAKB9IHXLDV>

> *   by Keith S. Folse (Author), Jeanine Aida Ivone (Author)

>

>   *A Conversation Book 1: English in Everyday Life (4th Edition)

> (Conversation Book)

> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0131500457/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IKK5NNYNTW2L&colid=2NMAKB9IHXLDV>

> *  by Tina Kasloff Carver (Author), Sandra Fotinos-Riggs (Author)

>

> Jenny

>

>

> Jennifer B. Gore

> Executive Director

> Reading Connections, Inc.

> 122 N. Elm Street, STE 520

> Greensboro, NC 27401

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

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> Email delivered to holly at dilatush.com

>




-- 
Holly (Dilatush)

holly at dilatush.com
(434) 960.7177 cell phone
(434) 295.9716 home phone
[OK to call 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST / GMT -5 time]

"Live with intention. Share inside~out smiles, inspire hope, seek awe and
nurture in nature."

www.tales-around-the-world.blogspot.com
www.abavirtual-learningcenter.org
www.theHsmile.org
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