The Pros and Cons: 25 Engaging Topics for Adult ESL Students

The Pros and Cons is an English fluency building workbook for adults designed to help ESL teachers create engaging and fun classes covering a wide range of topics and to help those students build fluency by providing ample activities that guide them to be creative and speak out. Its designed to be straight-forward and easy to use so the teacher can pick it up and go into class with it with minimal preparation.This workbook focuses on getting ESL students of intermediate and advanced English levels to engage with each other and the teacher in the case of one-to-one classes through activities and questions that promote discussion and decision-making. They will be challenged to think critically and solve problems all while using English as the mode of communication to deal with a variety of different tasks.What topics are included in this workbook?Arranged MarriagesHelping the PoorTelling White LiesWarAdoptionColonizing MarsAn International One-Child PolicyLiving Together Before MarriageDating a ColleagueMoving AbroadBeing Child-freeCloningDating During High SchoolMaking Kids Earn Their AllowanceBanning SmokingGoing Completely Green in 5 YearsNuclear Weapons and EnergyOpen International ImmigrationMarrying Outside of Your CultureHarsher PunishmentsDating StudentsBeing Your Own BossDivorceDating AppsUsing Tablets Instead of TextbooksEach topic or unit includes new vocabulary discussion questions activities for group- and pair-work as well as statistics and a closing activity or closing discussion questions.This workbook shines the most when used with groups of students but can also be adapted to work well in one-to-one situations with VIP students (in the case of some language training schools) or private students.Authors Note: As a teacher myself I can say that the Pros and Cons has been my longest running series and it has proven to be popular at every language training school Ive used it at and the content has continuously evolved over the past five years. The students are actively engaged and even the quietest students find that they have something that they want to contribute to the discussion and the activities. My classes tend to be made up of students from lower-intermediate to advanced and from age 14 to 60 and all have been able to participate and contribute to the conversations as well as have many opportunities to speak out and engage with others.