Attention Teachers & Tutors

Easy English Times is used in classrooms, workplace and library literacy projects.

Each month the paper comes with an extra page of Learning Activities and instant activities are included in each issue. You can walk into your classroom and start teaching from the newspaper.  Literacy tutors find the paper useful in individual or group settings. It can also be used for home study. We feature a Teachers' Corner with information for or by teachers.

Teachers say:

  • "Once the papers come, we have to stop everything to read them. My students love these newspapers."
    - Inger Shiffler
  • "It's great. I save every issue to use again and again."
    - June Chan
  • "My students love your fine newspaper! It is the high point of our ESL program. Thank you."  - Margaret Pillsbury

Students say:

  • "I want to read and write. The newspaper helps me understand English."
    - Hoa Mai Nguyen
  • "This paper helps me. It is my idea to get citizenship."
    - Phien Pheauboonma

Here is a "bonus" Instant Activity
(Posted June 2009)
Ohio teachers share lessons on economics

(Editor’s note: Marilyn McLaughlin sent us some of the handouts that she and a fellow teacher made before taking their classes on a field trip to a federal reserve bank. They teach in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.)

Here are some common words and phrases to talk about problems in the economy.

Credit crunch:
Banks lend money to customers in the form of loans (such as car loans or personal loans) or in the form of mortgages to buy houses. However, right now there appears to be a credit crunch. This means that borrowing money from banks is becoming harder to do and more expensive.
Sub-prime mortgages:
These mortgages were sold to people with poor credit ratings. It is a combination of this type of risky lending, falling house prices and high interest rates which led to defaults on mortgage payments and foreclosures. This in turn started the global financial crisis.

VOCABULARY HELP (Sources: BBC, federalreserveeducation.org, Encarta World English Dictionary)
credit crunch - The situation created when banks hugely reduce their lending to each other because they are uncertain about how much money they have and whether the institution they lend to will be able to pay it back. This in turn results in more expensive loans and mortgages for ordinary people.
credit rating - an assessment of the financial status and creditworthiness of a company or an individual default - Failure to meet the terms of a credit agreement.
foreclosure - The legal process used to force the payment of debt secured by collateral (such as a house) whereby the property is sold to satisfy the debt. Usually means a family needs to leave their house because they cannot pay their mortgage.
Sub-prime mortgages - Home loans offered to people who have had financial problems or who have low or unpredictable incomes. These loans often had high interest or interest rates that went up after a certain number of payments.

Instant Activity:
Here are some phrases that have to do with the economy. Match the definition to the phrase.

1. weather the storm

2. be in good shape

3. live beyond your means

4. pay the price

5. foot the bill

6. at rock bottom

7. in free fall

a. not have enough money for your spending

b. to be so low you cannot go any further down

c. pay for someone else

d. survive bad times

e. keep falling without anything stopping the fall

f. to be strong

g. pay for your mistakes

Answers:

1. d 2. f 3. a 4. g 5. c 6. b 7. e

 

Below are items of interest to teachers and tutors from past issues.

Former ESL student designs card games
by Betty Malmgren

Sergio Limon lives in Santa Barbara, California. He was born in Santa Barbara but went to live in Mexico when he was 4 years old. He graduated from the University of Guadalajara with a degree in engineering. When he returned to the U.S. nine years ago, he worked as a gardener and then he worked in a hotel. When he went to work at Santa Barbara City College as a custodian, he says it gave him a chance to study English. He earned a certificate in CAD/drafting and became a tutor in the drafting department.

Because he was an ESL student, he wants to help others who are learning English as a second language. Sergio developed card games to help ESL students. One is called "100 Irregular Verbs Present and Past Tense," and the other game is "The Wave." It is to help children develop math skills. He says the math card games are his favorites. He has invented more than 20 card games. The instructions of the card games are available in both Spanish and English.

Sergio is taking a business plan class at Santa Barbara City College’s Adult Education program to help his business. His teacher Mike Kauffman is proud of him. Sergio appreciates the help Mr. Kauffman has given him. He has redesigned his card games. "I am starting this new adventure to sell my card games seriously," Sergio says. He says it is important to make a business plan before you start any business.

(Editor’s note: For more information on buying his card games, you can e-mail Sergio at serglimon@yahoo.com.)

 

Reading for Pleasure
by Karen Batchelor

The young Brazilian woman raised her fist in the air and shouted "Go Jade! I love that part!" The class cheered.

This is one of the reactions an ESL student at City College of San Francisco had after reading Murder at Ocean View College. Other comments include, "I couldn’t stop" and "I had to find out the murderer."

For years I tried to find material that was both linguistically accessible to my students, and interesting enough to hold their interest. Difficult. After trying several novels with my classes, I decided that they really needed something that did not yet exist. So, I started writing an ESL novel. (It is also appropriate for remedial and reluctant readers.) It took me several years, and I used my own students as guinea pigs. When I finally had a draft complete, I asked other teachers to try it with their students. I got very positive feedback.

The story: Jade Lee and Danny Soto are students training to become police officers. One morning, Jade finds a dead English teacher on the seventh floor of Peterson Hall. As they pursue the killer, against direct orders, they face a jealous woman, a cheating football coach, and parents who are opposed to their romance--as well as an angry man with a gun.

The intended audience is high school and community college students. The reading level is approximately sixth grade.

(Published by Houghton Mifflin Publishers. ISBN: 0-618-76947. For more information about Houghton Mifflin products, services, or examination copy requests: Consult the College Division at college.hmco.com. Call or fax the Faculty Services Center: Tel 800-733-1717 · Fax: 800-733-1810 Contact your Custom Publishing Editor, Mary McGibbons: 866-856-8654)