English Express New York: A Cultural Reading & Writing Text for English Language Learners

As with most educational texts, English Express was designed to fill a void in classroom materials. For many ESL students, developing cultural literacy is as much a need as developing their language skills. While there are many ESL books that include readings on American culture, these tend to be on more broad-based socio-historical topics of Americana. It can, of course, be useful for English language learners to develop an awareness of various places and important events in American history, but knowledge of the local culture(s) is necessary for them to thrive in that environment. Additionally, as a multicultural city, New York provides a context for students to connect the English language to ideas and experiences that are comfortable and familiar.