About the Author

Eric H. Roth teaches international graduate students the pleasures and perils of academic writing and public speaking in English at the University of Southern California (USC). He also consults English language schools on communicative methods to effectively teach English. Since 1992, Roth has taught English to high school, community college, adult, and university students. Highlights of his career include: teaching the first Saturday morning citizenship class in Santa Monica (1994); directing the CES Adult Education Center (1995-1998); working with international students in summer IEP programs at UCLA Extension (1997-2000, 2003-2005); teaching USC engineering students in Madrid, Spain (2007) and Paris, France (2008); and directing the APU International High School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2009). Roth is also the co-author of Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics, an advanced ESL textbook used in over 50 countries. Easy English Times, an adult literacy newspaper, has published a monthly column "Instant Conversation Activities" based on the book since 2008. Compelling American Conversations for Intermediate English Language Learners is the third book in the fluency focused ESL series. A member of the USC faculty since 2003, Roth is a member of numerous professional Organizations including: California Association of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL); the International Communication Association (ICA); the International Professors Project (IPP); and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Roth has given TESOL and CATESOL conference presentations and led many teacher training workshops. Co-author Toni Aberson taught English to adult, university, and high school students for 35 years. She also supervised high school English teachers for 15 years and believes that a lively classroom is the optimal learning environment. In 2011, Aberson authored It's a Breeze: 50 Lively ESL Lessons on American Idioms, which focuses on common expressions in real-life situations. Co-author Hal Bogotch currently teaches English as a Second Language at Nexon America in southern California. Since 1996, he has taught English to adult immigrants, international high school students, and California middle school students. Bogotch has also contributed many poems to several literary publications.