December, 1997: Esteban Sardon, an assistant principal at one of our schools, suggested permanently converting one room at your school into a cafe. Tablecloths, pots, pans, dishes and other tableware would help create an inviting atmosphere. Teachers can reserve the room to watch videos and role play in the cafe. This makes the program more fun!

July, 1997: Before the break, tell the participants that you are going to ask each of them to tell a little bit about the population of adult learners they serve and which components of the Crossroads Cafe' English Learning Program they feel will be most helpful with their students.

Here are some examples from our last training session in Tallahassee:

"My students are primarily learning disabled and some are ESL also. They have a lot of trouble identifying appropriate behavior and use of language. I think the What would you do? Section of the worktext would provide opportunity to discuss situations in a non-threatening forum. For the same reason, I like the idea of watching the videos then role playing select scenes that illustrate appropriate/civil dialoge."

A basic literacy tutor made almost identical comments.

Having workshop participants identify specifically how they might begin serving their students with Crossroads Cafe Materials helps to coach them into application. I found their ideas enlightening and the whole process generated a lot of healthy discussion.

August, 1997: Here is a communicative game for the classroom that is especially good for episode 13, but could be adapted for other episodes too.

Questions:

• Is my character male? female?
• Am I from the US? Mexico? Etc.
• Am I married?
• Do I have children?
• Can I cook? Do I take money? (See Handout C in the Teacher Resource Book)

Levels:

Beginners: Have questions types up for each student. Stick to language structures with which your students are familiar.

Intemediates and advance make up their own yes/no questions.

Source: Adapted by Teri McLean from "Famous People Mixer", pg. 10. 101, Communicative Games for the English Classroom by Cyndi Turtledove. Nation Textbook Company, Lincolnwood, Illinois USA.