ESL Self-Study Books for Russian, Farsi, Spanish speakers

[fenoxielo524]

I have been volunteering as an ESL teacher at a local senior citizen center for a number of months, but my schedule has changed, forcing me to end the class after next week. I don't want to leave my students completely out in the cold, however, and I'd love to give them some suggestions of resources they can use to continue their study. I have

Comments

[fenoxielo524]

Ah, a bit of an oversight on my part. This is an absolute beginning English class.

[homa]

I am a little bit puzzled. All those slang discussions seem erroneous. Even if you are 70, you still live in the 21-st age, and teaching tongues must accord to the Present.

[fenoxielo524]

That's true, but might be less applicable to 70-year-olds living in the United States. I think it's probably pretty likely that they don't use computers and so wouldn't encounter newer slang that way, nor do they probably have access to much (if any) Russian television here in the United States, especially since these particular seniors have limited income and can't afford fancy satellite TV packages.

And aside from that, an accurate translation should reflect the diction and tone of the original in addition to the content, and I didn't use any slang in the original passage.

[homa]

Err... Agreed. Still, I think that, while apologizing, you would prefer using more informal language :) This is what I had in mind. And the slang is OK, it is English-based, so your students cannot be unfamiliar to it. This is what I told already: 70-yos in Russia may not know the word. But 70-yos in USA do know it. Tone and diction are OK, but they should reflect not only the content, but the disposition and the life conditions, too :)