Methods and Materials for Conversation and Writing Tutors

Eric H. Roth writes...

How do you effectively teach English to a struggling private student? What will you actually do for 60-120 minutes together? How will you make the lessons meaningful enough that your client feels satisfied and wants to retain you for future lessons?

First, you must be very clear about what the client wants and expects. Some tutors even present a written contract outlining their rates, the location and times of meetings, and payment policies. I've never been that formal, but I have also never been burned the way some tutors have been. In fact, I've had only very positive experiences with clients. Why? Perhaps luck; perhaps because I screen potential clients. I only work with professionals, graduate students, and/or friends and spouses of friends with a solid foundation in English. Be explicit about what you want and don't want to teach a client. Be prepared to provide options for potential clients that you reject.

For students who want to improve their conversation, I strongly suggest that you select the topic and materials in advance. You can use newspapers and/or magazines to find appropriate articles to begin the conversation. (I usually assign the articles a week ahead and give them my conversation worksheets.) My favorite book - because I wrote it and it provides 45 self-contained thematic chapters - is Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics. The combination of poignant questions, vocabulary lists, proverbs, and witty quotations makes your job much easier.

If you have a weaker student looking to improve their speaking skills, then I would advise using a picture dictionary. There are several fine ones. You might use the Oxford Picture Dictionary to open conversations, and I would be tempted to ask the client to bring in photographs and ads each week. You will need patience and be prepared to repeat words. Many students will want to work on their pronunciation. You can also ask/assign them listening activities on the web. I like Voice of America's Special English programs for intermediate and advanced students. You will have to direct lower levels to websites to practice their listening and speaking skills with drills. They will love the work; you might go mad repeating vowel sounds.

You can also make a good income helping ESL students write college admission essays, practice TOEFL and GRE essays, and proofreading papers. There are many fine books you can use. I recommend Keith Folse's Great Essays and picking any of the standard test preparation guides published by Barrons or Kaplans. For worse or for better, the focus is on structure and not content. Spelling, somehow, often doesn't even officially matter. You might also use the excellent Cambridge Vocabulary in Use series and Grammar in Use series. You can also recommend Grammar Troublespots for international students.

Finally, I have had great success sharing insights on adapting to American culture. My favorite book for this challenging task remains Checklists for Life: 104 Lists to Help You. Each chapter focuses on a practical life skill from buying a computer and finding a good mechanic to organizing your workplace and writing letters of condolence. Inevitably the readings lend themselves to engaging conversations and a satisfying exchange of information and insights. I have also assigned readings from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, but the advice offered often seems very idealistic and naive to immigrant professionals. Still, clients love the idioms and find that the perspective illuminates unknown aspects of American culture - or at least a segment of American culture.

Finally, the key to tutoring ESL students - or anyone else - remains respecting the student, meeting their needs, and providing a solid structure for your lessons. I have found that using a set text, developing a known routine, and combining conversation, vocabulary and writing skills makes for a successful and satisfying experience.

As William Shakespeare noted four centuries ago, "All's well that ends well". Therefore, you should also have the grace to know when to end your lessons. Some clients will want to keep working with you. Set a clear goal for your lessons, and conclude when the students have reached that goal. You can then become genuine friends and leave money out of the equation.

Or not. You choose. What are your goals for tutoring students?

TEFL.NET ESL Reviews & Articles© Eric H. Roth 2007
Eric Roth currently teaches writing and verbal skills to international graduate students at the University of Southern California. Eric has helped university students discover the pleasures and perils of the English language from dozens of countries over the last 15 years. He recently co-authored an EFL book titled "Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics" from materials he developed as a tutor and teacher. Eric can be reached through http://www.compellingconversations.com.

Smart Growth.org
A SERVICE OF THE SMART GROWTH NETWORK
http://www.smartgrowth.org/about/default.asp?res=1024

In communities across the nation, there is a growing concern that current development patterns -- dominated by what some call "sprawl" -- are no longer in the long-term interest of our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities, or wilderness areas. Though supportive of growth, communities are questioning the economic costs of abandoning infrastructure in the city, only to rebuild it further out.

Spurring the smart growth movement are demographic shifts, a strong environmental ethic, increased fiscal concerns, and more nuanced views of growth. The result is both a new demand and a new opportunity for smart growth.

The features that distinguish smart growth in a community vary from place to place. In general, smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to center cities and older suburbs. New smart growth is more town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. It also preserves open space and many other environmental amenities.

The Smart Growth Principles and Issues below describe in greater details the various aspects of planning and development that make up smart growth.

By Sara Speicher



For Eric Sawyer, the late 1980s was a "war time situation". "People with
AIDS were fighting for their lives and for their friends", says Sawyer, an
AIDS activist and co-founder of ACT UP New York. By 1988, seven years after
the first case of AIDS was reported, AIDS was causing more deaths in the US
then there were in the Vietnam War, and between 5 and 10 million people were
estimated to be infected with HIV around the world. Yet governments, media
and society in general were not giving AIDS adequate attention. So, "people
with AIDS had to literally take to the streets and block traffic and take
over government buildings", Sawyer recalls.



Sawyer had been on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic since developing his
first HIV-related symptoms in 1981, before AIDS was officially identified.
For him and for thousands of other activists around the world, the formation
of World AIDS Day in 1988 was one of the few moments in the year where the
growing tragedy of AIDS would finally get attention around the globe.



Now at its 20th anniversary, World AIDS Day continues to be the focus of
global solidarity for a pandemic that has led to over 25 million deaths with
an estimated 33 million people currently living with HIV worldwide.



World AIDS Day was reportedly the brainchild of the late Jonathan Mann, at
the time the director of the Global Programme on AIDS (GPA) at the World
Health Organization. After positive reactions to the idea of World AIDS Day
by over 100 health ministers at the January 1988 London gathering focused on
AIDS and at the 1988 International AIDS Conference in Stockholm, the World
Health Organization declared 1 December 1988 as the first World AIDS Day,
which was recognised and supported by the UN General Assembly in October
1988.



"We wanted to provide a platform so that people who were working on the
issue at any level could get involved", says Tom Netter, who worked with
Mann as the head of the GPA's public information office. Fostering a sense
of solidarity was paramount, says Netter, "so that people could do things at
the grassroots level and feel part of the global response at that time."



Netter recalls that in 1988, despite the short planning time, an event was
held in every member state. "That was eye opening", he said, "It showed that
people wanted to have something that they could grab on to, to feel part of
the overall response." In the World Health Organization itself, panels from
the AIDS quilt were displayed. "People found that very moving . . . it
showed the individuals affected."



Within three years, the activities around the day "became something that was
going to happen spontaneously.People on the ground took off with it", says
Netter.



Unique momentum



The energy behind World AIDS Day, and the activism that has characterised
the response to AIDS among civil society, is unique.



Prior to AIDS, Netter states, "there wasn't really so much of an advocacy
movement regarding diseases or people who were ill. AIDS really was the
first that mobilised people."



It was the people most affected who brought the urgency, passion and
accountability to the movement. Sawyer recalls, "Early on the most
significant leadership was actually done by people with AIDS themselves".



Whilst early activists targeted authorities' slow response to AIDS, that
didn't mean that scientists and activists were on opposite sides, says
Professor Lars Kallings, the first president of the International AIDS
Society, also founded in 1988. "If you think from the beginning, before
there was any treatment, the doctors felt very helpless. They suffered by
not being able to help their patients. Therefore, even scientists have been
on the front lines, on the barricades, very often against the authorities,
the government."



World AIDS Day has been a symbolic focus for this activism. It "gave people
a sense that they were part of a larger movement than what they were
involved in individually and locally", Netter states.



But this doesn't mean that one day is enough. "For me", says Frika Chia
Iskandar, a young woman from Indonesia working with the Asia Pacific Network
of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+), "it doesn't seem like 'World' enough,
it is not public enough". For activists now, she reflects, the day itself
doesn't make a difference when "our days are filled with AIDS". Yet, she
emphasises, "For the public, though, it is at least one day where we think
about AIDS, and it is still needed."



Greg Gray, an APN+ advisor who also carries a supporting role for the NGO
delegation to the UNAIDS governing board agrees, "World AIDS Day has real
value for raising awareness with the broader public. But when you are
working with the grassroots community affected by HIV it doesn't connect as
much. When you do it day in and day out, it becomes the norm. World AIDS Day
is trying to get a bit of that message home to a much broader community."



Placing a spotlight on leadership



For Kallings, that broader community from the beginning included leaders. At
times, the absence of leadership has been most apparent. "We had to push
Ronald Reagan to get his tongue around AIDS", Kallings recalls. "That didn't
happen until 1987 when tens of thousands of his countrymen had already
died."



But Kallings also recalls early World AIDS Day events where presidents and
royalty participated, such as in Tanzania and Thailand. "That puts the
limelight on AIDS", he says, "and showed solidarity in the country."



The danger, as Matilda Moyo, a steering group member of the Pan Africa
Treatment Action Movement, points out, is that World AIDS Day becomes a
"cheap opportunity for governments to make promises that they fail to
deliver on". Sometimes media only focus on covering government's statements
on the day, she says, and fail to lift up what challenges there are
according to civil society working with HIV and AIDS on a daily basis.



Kallings, who is currently the United Nations' Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in
Eastern Europe and Central Asia, acknowledges that it "is a constant fight
to get the leaders to leave the denial and indifference. One of my roles is
to persuade leaders to use their power to influence the public concept
because discrimination is very deep in the population and it will not change
unless there is leadership."



The leadership required to address AIDS must come from all aspects of the
community. "Leadership in HIV is nothing without political leadership", says
Eunice Kapandura, a 25-year old positive youth activist from Zimbabwe, yet
adding, "when we talk of leadership we mean meaningful representation of the
community." Archbishop Njongo Ndungane, founder and president of African
Monitor, emphasises the role of religious leaders, who "should shout at the
rooftops that AIDS is not a punishment from God but a medical condition
which is preventable, manageable and treatable although not curable."



Within the AIDS advocacy movement, leadership has changed over these past 20
years, especially after the breakthrough in combination therapy, Sawyer
says. Of the early activists who had been leading the fight, "a lot of them
died, a lot of them went on to work full-time for AIDS organizations and
after working 8-10 hours a day to provide care and support they no longer
had time or energy for activism. And others who received treatment, they
returned to their careers. That shifted leadership in both AIDS
organisations on the frontline and government officials and researchers."

Even though the pandemic still affects every country in the world and rages
in Sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS fatigue seems to have hit particularly Western
media and society. "The passion that people brought to the epidemic has
pretty much been lost",

Sawyer reflects.



Chia Iskandar wants to see young leaders in the response, but it's not just
about their age. "It's not about youth, but about new ideas. We need to be
able to keep the idealism alive - the mutual energy, mutual knowledge
transfers, knowing that we are fighting the challenges, fighting the virus,
not fighting each other." She adds that one of the critical aspects of
leadership is "'passing on the knowledge' from the leaders who have
'developed' themselves in the response to the new 'young' leaders and
working together."



With young people now the population most affected, Moyo affirms, "We need
leadership that is creative, young and vibrant and brings fresh ideas on how
to tackle the global challenge."



What remains key is that those most affected lead the way. "For myself being
a person living with AIDS", Sawyer states, "it would be important to
strengthen leadership of people living with HIV and AIDS and the affected
community."



>From one day to a campaign



In 1996 when the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) became
operational, it took over the planning and promotion of World AIDS Day.
However, according to Anne Winter, head of advocacy and communication at the
time, organisers soon felt that rather than only emphasise one day they
wanted to encourage an extended effort over a long period.



Thus in 1997, the World AIDS Campaign was born, charged with focusing on
longer-term messages and strategy. World AIDS Day became the highlight of a
year-long emphasis.



With the campaign, Winter says, "we always tried to use issues that were
innovative and would really move the agenda forward".



The themes chosen for the first two years - on children and young people -
were in fact roundly criticised at the time. "People said this was just a
way to get attention about the epidemic, that the epidemic is not about
children", Winter recalls. But the theme highlighted that the extent and
severity of the epidemic in the developing world was not widely known. "It
was important to change the face of the epidemic and that people recognise
it was a family disease and that children were very much affected by it in
different ways."



In late 2004, the World AIDS Campaign became independent to broaden civil
society ownership and participation. Based in South Africa and The
Netherlands, the World AIDS Day theme is now chosen by its Global Steering
Committee after a broad consultation with people involved in the response
from all over the world. The themes often are repeated for two years to help
get key messages home to the public and to leaders, and all of the themes
are under the 2005-2010 campaign slogan, "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."
targeting political leaders' commitment to reach universal access to
prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010.



Leadership needed now



Kallings acknowledges that the response to AIDS today is much better than it
was 20 years ago, but far more action needs to be taken. "Last year it was
three million on treatment. That is a remarkable success. But it is still
only one-third of people needing urgent treatment. The current financial
crisis is a threat to that successful trend. It very much calls for
continued lobbying and pressure to continue to get enough financial support
not only to maintain the current level but to increase it to three times
more and include more preventative measures."



Sawyer notes that World AIDS Day "remains one of the few days where the
world pays a lot of attention to AIDS". Yet, with people living longer
because of anti-retroviral medicines and the many other global issues
needing attention, it seems the news value has faded. Despite the Western
media fatigue, Sawyer notes, "we still have over 8000 deaths a day, 2-3
million dying and millions of new infections each year". As part of a think
tank called aids2031, Sawyer is thinking of another anniversary - the 50th
anniversary of the identification of AIDS - and hoping that leadership at
this 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day will mean those numbers are
tragedies of the past.



The World AIDS Campaign supports, strengthens and connects campaigns that
hold leaders accountable for their promises on HIV and AIDS. "Stop AIDS.
Keep the Promise" is the slogan for the World AIDS Campaign from 2005-2010.
www.worldaidscampaign.org



For more information or for interviews with experts, national campaigners
and people directly affected by HIV and AIDS, contact the World AIDS
Campaign at
media@worldaidscampaign.org, +31 20 616 9045 (Netherlands) or +44 1524 727
651 (UK).





The article is availble on:
http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/Media/WAC-News/World-AIDS-Day-marks-20th
-anniversary-of-solidarity

I am currently working, to get some immediate feedback from the African Youth Day events accross the continent, to ascertain the trends in the celebrations, the levels of youth involvement, the kinds of activities undertaken and the levels of government presence among others.
Please find a short survey below. It will be appreciated if you are [...]

' 'we all live like a rose
that shines during the day
but when the sun goes to its place
it goes,wither with the day''

for my mother, my father she has
and father he has my mother
we live together in cave
like birds in their nest
i knew not my father was the nest
to be eaten by the motherly earth

the husband of my mother
i saw u last night
when we dined together
you never told me it was your last meal

the husband of my mother
last night together we dined
now you fell aslepp alone

the husband of my mother
why did your eyes remain close
please up and move me close

the husband of my mother
they are fighting the earth for you
with digger spade and shovel
putting you in your covered bed

the husband of my mother
hidding you under the earth
o!the husband of my mother
my mother's husband
when shall we see again
the husband of my mother

Broadcast on Cambodian Television Network (CTV) since July 2004, "Youth Today" is a weekly television programme produced by and designed for young people in Cambodia. This project uses the medium of television to promote youth advocacy through active participation by selecting its young reporters from local high schools in Phnom Penh...
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/277428/2754

From the Editorial Director of the Center for Public Integrity, this blog on the Global Investigative Journalism Conference describes the arrival of 500 reporters from 87 countries to share tips on everything from investigating war criminals to exposing corruption in sports. The author indicates that investigative journalism is thriving outside the United States (US), a country where news organisations are shutting down investigative teams and laying off their most experienced reporters...
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/277300/2754

This article describes the disturbing trend of vigilantism against professional and, particularly, citizen journalists. It reports that in Sri Lanka attacks on journalists and media organisations "have increased several fold in the past two years, and the World Association of Newspapers ranked Sri Lanka as the third deadliest place for journalists (six killed in 2007) - behind only Iraq and Somalia..."
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/277003/2754

The Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) makes available several interlinked online resources for those seeking information on United States-based media law. According to this web-based resource, "The CMLP's legal guide addresses the legal issues you may encounter as you gather information and publish your work. The guide is intended for use by citizen media creators with or without formal legal training, as well as others with an interest in these issues..."
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/276566/2754

This article asserts that improving media coverage of climate change issues, particularly in developing countries, is critically important for tackling the challenges of global warming, but that climate-change reporting is inadequate because too often editors lack interest and assign writers without expertise. The author cites journalistic successes, where reporting on climate issues has made a difference in government responses...
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/276557/2754

A Training and Resource Kit
This training kit attempts to provide media professionals with basic information about some priority issues for sustainable development. It also provides practical exercises to inspire investigative reporting, and draws links to existing experience that may enrich the information resources of media professionals...
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/276551/2754

The Fairness Doctrine: Is this the First Big Media Debate under Obama and What Does it Mean for Media Development?
Rush Limbaugh, the right wing US radio talk show host, argues that one of the priorities of the new Democratic Congress will be the reintroduction of the "Fairness Doctrine". This doctrine – implemented and overseen by the US Federal Communication Commission until 1987 – held that holders of broadcast licenses issued in the US had to present news and other public interest coverage in ways that were honest, balanced and equitable. It was designed to ensure that the public had access to a range of political perspectives, analysis and information. Although there was substantial flexibility in how it could be accomplished, broadcasters were expected to cover news and public interest issues, and they were expected to do so fairly. The Doctrine was abolished in Ronald Reagan's second term as President. Limbaugh may be right. A newly empowered Democratic Congress may well attempt to reintroduce some kind of measure similar to the Doctrine...
READ FULL TEXT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/280049/bbc
POST A COMMENT: http://www.comminit.com/development_policy/comment/reply/280049

Deux présentateurs motivés pour un début de programme inspirant. Tel était le contenu du premier atelier du Programme Leadership Action de la Jeune Chambre de Commerce de Montréal, qui s'est tenu le 10 novembre dernier. Tout d’abord, l’approche intergénérationnelle proposée lors de cet atelier lui a donné tout son dynamisme. L’interactivité entre les conférenciers invités et l’échange entre les deux générations étaient tout à fait approprié au contexte.

Une homme d’expérience, qui a tout d’ un mentor et une jeune femme pleine d’énergie…

D’un coté, Luc Villeneuve, associé senior chez Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche et Mélanie Joly, 29 ans, directrice développement corporatif chez Cohn & Wolfe Montréal nous ont présenté les bénéfices que pouvaient retirer les jeunes à s’engager dans leur communauté.

Très impliquée socialement, Mélanie Joly est membre du conseil d’administration du Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) et présidente de son Comité jeunesse, membre du Conseil consultatif du doyen de la Faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal, membre du conseil d’administration de Relations publiques sans frontières ainsi que cofondatrice de Génération d’idées, un groupe de réflexion politique. En plus de siéger au Conseil supérieur de langue française, Mélanie est membre de nombreuses associations et organisations à but non lucratif.et dont la passion se révèle à la fois dans son regard pétillant de même que dans son discours.

Luc Villeneuve est devenu, en septembre 2007 membre du conseil d’administration de Deloitte & Touche s.r.l., et en décembre 2007, a été nommé vice-président et membre du Conseil canadien de service à la clientèle. Il est aussi membre du conseil d’administration de la Fondation Deloitte et coprésident du Comité national sur la Marque (Brand). M. Villeneuve a participé à plusieurs campagnes de financement, dont celles d’HEC Montréal en 2004-2005 et 2005-2006, à titre de président. Il siège aux conseils d’administration de l’Institut des administrateurs de sociétés (président), du Cercle des amis des Petits frères des pauvres (vice-président), de la Société Pro Musica (trésorier) et du Club Saint-Denis (vice-président), entre autres.


Les deux présentateurs ont invité les jeunes à s’impliquer bénévolement dans des domaines qui les intéressent, pour lesquels ils font preuve d’enthousiasme car, cela comme le dit Luc Villeneuve « nous aide à mieux performer, selon notre expertise. » Aujourd’hui, les jeunes font face à un champ de possibilités incroyables et les organisations québécoises offrent de nombreuses opportunités pour ceux et celles qui veulent s’impliquer dans des conseils d’administrations. Les jeunes doivent faire le premier pas et aller cogner aux portes selon leurs champs d’intérêt.

L’engagement social constitue une solide base pour le développement d’un champs d’expertise et du leadership communautaire.