Publications
In Print
Next Generation Grammar 3.
Co-authored with Pamela Vittorio. Pearson, 2013.
Learn about my contributions to this 4-book series as the Grammar Coach.
Vocabulary Power 1: Practicing Essential Words
Pearson Longman, 2007.
Vocabulary Power 2: Practicing Essential Words. .
Co-authored with Kate Dingle. Pearson Longman, 2007.
New Password 1 and 4: A Reading and Vocabulary Text.
Pearson Longman, 2009. I had the privilege and pleasure of contributing to Linda Butler’s 5-level series. I was an assistant test writer for Books 1 and 4. I wrote four out of five tests for each of those Teacher’s Manuals.
Out of Print
"A Lesson at the Pond." January/ February 2000 issue of Speak
Out by Glossa.
My first published work was a short story in a Russian children’s magazine. It was a fun piece about some unhappy creatures at a pond wanting to look like the people and animals at a nearby castle. (I think there was a fish that got glasses and a frog that grew a mustache. The rest I can’t remember!) The two-page story presented reflexive pronouns in context for young English langauge learners. The story also came with a moral: Just be yourself.
Brainstorming: A Handbook for the English Language Teacher.
Manager, 2001. (This is a large collection of communicative activities.
I may be able to share some of my favorites on this site.)
Within my first three years of teaching English, I had created a good number of activities and materials. I had a strong desire to share my ideas with English language learners and teachers in Russia. It was not an easy task trying to convince someone to publish my books: I was young and unknown. With my own persistence and the kind support from a couple of instructors at the Russian State University of Humanities, I found a publisher willing to work with me. Three of my four proposed ideas went into press. They did not hit the stores until 2001, shortly after my return to the U.S. I harbor the hope that the fourth book, a collection of short stories for young English language learners, will make it into print some day.
Footsteps: Short Stories for Intermediate and Advanced Students of
English. Manager, 2001
This is a collection of original short stories. Each one is accompanied by a glossary, language notes, and exercises. I definitely wish I could improve my explanations and fine-tune my writing in this book, but I still enjoy the stories to this day. A couple have been reprinted and used in my YouTube videos with the publisher’s permission.
Top Ten Reasons for Learning a Foreign Language. Manager, 2001.
This is a small collection of activities based on top-ten lists that target conversation and vocabulary skills.
Practical Concerns in the Mulitcultural Classroom:
An American’s Perspective." Kaliningrad, Russia. 2007.
This was my first opportunity to submit an article for an international conference. A former student of mine, who became a dean, presented my paper in my absence as I was due to have my second child.
Originally presented in absentia in April 2007 at the international conference “Developing Professional Competence in Education” held at the Kaliningrad State College of Urban Planning.