Sheila MacKechnie Murtha - Celebrate the American Way

ENGLISH THE AMERICAN WAYTMFun ESL Learning The warm and witty authors of English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language and Culture in the U.S. are back with the second book in their series, Celebrate the American Way, another fun ESL guide. The accent is on FUN in these friendly guides to language and culture in the U.S. Learn tons of new vocabulary. Improve your communication and pronunciation skills. Listen to short dialogues and read about interesting aspects of American culture. Learn wacky idioms, usage, and yes, some slang.

Get great tips about social customs and everyday situations. Fun-filled quizzes and audio dialogues make it easy to practice, practice, practice until youre perfect! ISBN: 978-0-7386-0676-7 ISBN: 978-0-7386-1194-5 CELEBRATE THE AMERICAN WAYA Fun ESL Guide to English Language and Culture in the U.S.Sheila MacKechnie Murtha, M.A.Jane Airey OConnor, M.Ed.Research & Education Association 61 Ethel Road West Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 E-mail: Celebrate the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to English Language and Culture in the U.S.Copyright 2016 by Research & Education Association, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Control Number 2015944894 eISBN-13: 978-0-7386-8645-5 LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: Publication of this work is for the purpose of test preparation and related use and subjects as set forth herein. While every effort has been made to achieve a work of high quality, neither Research & Education Association, Inc., nor the authors and other contributors of this work guarantee the accuracy or completeness of or assume any liability in connection with the information and opinions contained herein and in REAs software and/or online materials. REA and the authors and other contributors shall in no event be liable for any personal injury, property or other damages of any nature whatsoever, whether special, indirect, consequential or compensatory, directly or indirectly resulting from the publication, use or reliance upon this work.

All trademarks and product names cited in this publication are the property of their respective owners. Cover Image iStockphoto.com/NLshop Table of ContentsAbout Our Authors (Everything you wanted to know... and more!) Sheila and Jane have been colleagues and friends for... well, lets just say a long time. As ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers, they have worked together on tons of projects... and they always had lots of fun as they worked.

A partnership was born! Together, Jane and Sheila have teaching credentials in several states and on two continents. With years and years and years of experience (they just dont want to count them all, ha!), they have taught ESL to little kids, big kids, university students, adult workers, company executives, and other teachers in the U.S. and Europe (both online and in regular classroom settings). Both Sheila and Jane have served as members of the New Jersey Department of Education Advisory Committee for ESL/Bilingual Education. Theyve facilitated online ESL training courses for teachers through the NJ DOE professional development program. (They teach! They test! They score!) Theyve been recognized for excellence in teaching, and have won several awards, including two Teacher-of-the-Year awards, and corporate citations for excellence. (They teach! They test! They score!) Theyve been recognized for excellence in teaching, and have won several awards, including two Teacher-of-the-Year awards, and corporate citations for excellence.

Theyve given numerous presentations, and theyve written curricula and syllabi for diverse ESL populations. Add to this some fun teaching projects in French, Spanish, public speaking, drama, writing... and, were not kidding, even soccer skills (okay, not our finest moment)... and youve got two writers who know how to have a good time writing a book! Jane is Director of ESL Services for Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. Sheila is a Lecturer in the English Language Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and she continues to teach, write, and consult in New Jersey and New York. like this book! A Letter from the Authors Hi there! Thanks for choosing our book. like this book! A Letter from the Authors Hi there! Thanks for choosing our book.

We hope youll love it! As usual, we had lots of fun writing this book, and we hope youll have lots of fun reading it. Well, have fun, but also learn interesting stuff about American culture, and why and how Americans celebrate important holidays. And while youre learning that, youll learn tons of new vocabulary and idioms. As you learn about American customs and attitudes, youll read (and hear!) plenty of informal English. REAL English! We hope this book will be useful and FUN! Lets celebrate! Authors AcknowledgmentsSheila says: Thanks to Erin, my one-woman cheering team, sounding board, culture consultant, and best friend; to James and Mak, always (quietly!) there for support and insider perspective; and Jimmy always the voice in my head and my heart Jane says: Thanks to my wonderful husband Tony for doing no more than roll his eyes when I said Sheila and I were going to write another book. Thanks to my lovely daughter Charlotte (as shell never forgive me if I dont mention her).

And thanks to the bleachers at Swim Atlanta where a lot of this was written while Charlotte (see Charlotte I got your name in three times!) did her swim practice. How This Book Works The emphasis is on fun in this lighthearted guide to language and culture in the United States. Celebrate the American Way takes you on a year-long journey through American social customs, highlighting the meanings behind the U.S. holidays and special events celebrated in each season. Learn why Americans mark Independence Day on July 4th, discover the history of Thanksgiving, get tips on wedding etiquette, find out how to carve a jack-o-lantern, and more! Each section is chock-full of vocabulary and informal language related to the season or occasion. Wacky idioms, verbs, and slang expressions are shown in bold as theyre introduced in the text and then listed at the end of each section with a simple definition or explanation.

Throughout the book, look for Your Turn practice exercises. Quiz yourself with these fun fill-in and matching activities as you learn about commonly confused words, adjectives, and synonyms. Youll find that these are great ways to check your understanding (and memory