For Here or To Go?
An ESL Reader

John de Szendeffy

About the Book

SKILL LEVEL: Beginning to Intermediate

For Here or To Go? is a collection of stories written in first person and adapted from ideas expressed in the short compositions and personal essays of ESL learners from a variety of cultures, languages, and backgrounds. All stories share real experiences about learning a new language in a new country and have been proven to generate interest, reflection, and debate in class among learners in a variety of settings. The readings provide models of native fluency by demonstrating vocabulary, structure, mechanics, and rhetorical patterns of English.

Stories are arranged according to the book's themes—Shocking Culture, First Words, and Understanding a New People. Sample topics are the American classroom, visiting New York City for the first time, male-female relationships, and particular idiomatic expressions such as "for here or to go?"