MacKechnie Murtha Sheila - English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language & Culture in the U.S

ENGLISH THE AMERICAN WAY:A FUN ESL GUIDE TO 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: English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language and Culture in the U.S.Published 2015 Copyright 2011 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 2010937924 eISBN-13: 978-0-7386-0676-7 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.

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A 14 Table of ContentsGRAMMAR REMINDERS:GRAMMAR REMINDERS:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminder:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminder:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:Grammar Reminders:About the Authors Sheila and Jane have been colleagues and friends for well, lets just say a long time . As English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, they worked together on lots of projects and had lots of fun as they worked. A partnership was born! Together, Jane and Sheila have teaching credentials in several states and 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, adults, 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. Sheila has held several leadership positions scoring teacher candidate responses for an international testing company, and Jane has written ESL test questions and rated English as a Foreign Language exams for another internationally recognized testing company. (They teach, they test, they score!) They have won many awards for excellence in teaching, including two Teacher of the Year awards, and corporate citations for excellence. Theyve given numerous presentations and have written curriculum and syllabi for diverse ESL populations. Add to this some fun teaching projects in 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 now the 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 continues to teach, write and consult in New Jersey and New York. Although they live several states away, both are happy to find time to work together on fun projects like this book! A Letter from the Authors Hi there! Thanks for choosing our book. We think it shows just how smart you are . We had a lot of fun writing this book, and we hope that youll have a lot of fun reading it. Well, have fun, but also learn a lot about the English language and American culture. Weve always loved Englishthe sound of the words, the fun of the idioms, and the interesting way the words work together.

We also know that learning all this stuff can be a challenge to English language learners. And thats where our book comes in! English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language and Culture in the U.S. is your very own ... well, guide, to... yes, American language and culture . Youll find tons (a lot!) of vocabulary, all of it used in real-life ways. Weve included tons of informal languagethe stuff you really hear every day.

And we take a look at American customsbirth to death, and everything in-between! We hope this book will be a help in your adventure learning English. Good luck! Authors AcknowledgmentsSheila says: Thanks to Erin, who said, You really should write a book; to James, who gave her something to write it with; and, of course, to Jim, who happily mastered the art of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Jane says: Thanks to Mum and Dad for always knowing what to say and what to do. (And what not to say and what not to do!) You are the best! I hope I am as good a parent to Charlotte as you have been to me. How This Book Works This book has 21 units packed with language and culture! Each unit has a main topic divided into two or three cultural readings. In these readings and the dialogues that follow, youll find real English, not the simplified language you find in most ESL books.

The units are full of vocabulary and informal languagetons of idioms, phrasal verbs and slangbold within the text, then listed at the end of each section with a simple explanation. Listen to the audio for native speaker pronunciation of the dialogues, then play it again to practice! Look for grammar reminders, idiomatic expressions, culture tips, and fun facts. Oh, and dont forget to check your understanding (and memory