American Teens Talk is a book of interviews with plain ordinary, multi-cultural teenagers in the USA. The book was created by the US State Department’s Office of English Language Programs. A great way for new English speakers to understand every day language, and improve their English comprehension skills.
Here’s what the compiler has to say:
In the summer of 2009, I had a wonderful opportunity to spend three weeks with a group of Tajik English teachers. One of the teachers said that her students would like to have a book of stories about American teenagers. When I returned home, I couldn’t find a book like that, so I began to interview ordinary young people about their everyday lives and send the interviews to some English teachers and learners. When I asked teenagers for an interview, they almost always said, “But I don’t do anything special.” I told them, “That’s exactly what I want: ordinary life and ordinary English.”
Sample From American Teens Talk:
Bianca 17: What have you been doing this week?
Well, this week I started with having a day off on Monday, but I’ve been doing a lot of calculus homework the entire week.
I was lucky enough to go to a conference today, on women’s philanthropy,* and
I was so excited to meet a lot of people who are involved in supporting many philanthropies which deal with feeding the hungry in my area.
Max 15: What have you been doing this week?
Oh well, let’s see, this has been a different week than usual. Last Friday my school orchestra went to Atlanta, Georgia, where we went to perform in a competition and we went everywhere in Atlanta after that. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe* and even got to listen to the Atlanta Symphony.
It was like a two-and-a-half-hour performance, but they were unbelievable! It was great!
The next day we attended the actual competition and were ranked as being superior, which is the best ranking of course. And after that we went to Six Flags, the amusement park, for about nine hours and rode just about every ride there.
And then the next day we went to the Georgia Aquarium and got to see all sorts of sea life that was really cool from all over the world. And after that we went to the World of Coca-Cola* and got to taste sodas* from every continent. It was very neat.*
Following that day we got back on the bus and rode five hours all the way home watching Jack Black movies.
More Books Like This:
If you enjoyed American Teens Talk, see more books for teenagers in our Young Adults Section here: https://freekidsbooks.org/category/young_adult/
Young Adults Books:
This work is produced by a US government employee during their course of work – therefore it is in public domain and completely copyright free. (And you thought you didn’t get anything for your tax!)
See more public domain books here: https://freekidsbooks.org/license/public-domain/
See more Public Domain Books below
The Magic Pitcher – Tales From the Sanskrit for Children - A beautiful rendition of the classic Sanskrit tale (stories with morales), The Magic Pitcher, complete with illustrations and comprehension / inferential questions. Sample Text from The Magic Pitcher Long, long ago there lived far away in India a woodcutter called Subha Datta and his family, who were all very happy together. The father went every ...
The Voyages of Dr Dolittle – Classic Tales - From the push-me-pull you, the people of Popsipetel, to Polynesia the talking parrot, and much much more, the classic adventures of Dr Dolittle are an ageless classic. The Voyages of Dr Dolittle are provided herewith a convenient pdf, epub, and odt version for maximum readability. Written by Hugh Lofting The Voyages of Dr Dolittle Sample ...
Buying a Bicycle - A short humourous story for older children about buying a bicycle. Waiting in The Shovel and Custard for the next bus makes Joe think there must be a better way to spend our time. But if you ever thought buying a bicycle was a simple matter, you should have come with us. Download the full ...
Barnaby Frog Learns to Swim - Barnaby Frog is afraid of water, will he get over his fear? Another great cutely illustrated children’s story by Tony J Moon. Sample Page from Barnaby Frog Learns to Swim See more from Tony J Moon on FKB and see more at the Tony J Moon Website Spread the love
Think Like a Scientist – Age is no barrier, just common sense - Jack’s dad started to show some symptoms of a weird illness. He went to several doctors and they couldn’t find anything wrong. Jack’s Dad decided it was important to think like a scientist and did not give up looking. Finally, he found a specialist who diagnosed his condition, but not soon enough – Jack’s grandparents ...
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Guidance for Teens – SAMSHA - This is a collection of guidance material for teens about mental health and substance abuse from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration including the contents detailed below. If you or a teen you know may have any of these issues make sure they are aware of the information and that there is help out ...
Forward to the Moon – NASA Activities Book - Published by NASA this space activities book provides fun recognition, word, and math activities and information about space flight aimed at children aged 5 to 12. Spread the love
Survival Guide – There is Help - This is a survival guide and workbook designed specifically for teens or young adults who may have thoughts of self-harm. The ebook is available as a pdf which you can print and fill in by hand or edit using the pdf annotate tools and also as an editable odg file (Open Office Draw). Note the ...
The Friendly Needle – All about getting a vaccination - Getting a vaccination can be very scary. The Friendly Needle, in this charming illustrated story, tells Jack all about how vaccinations can help protect him. After focussing on all the positives, the pinch didn’t hurt Jack as much as he thought it would. If your child needs to get a vaccination this is a great ...
Voices of Children – Child helpline stories and help - This poignant account of children and teen’s child helpline calls can help children put their problems in perspective or recognise that there are ways to get help. Over thirty stories of problems from too much schoolwork or friendship difficulties to suicide and physical and sexual abuse. The book also includes worldwide contacts for Child Helpline ...Sponsored Links:
Note – if you sign up through these links, it doesn’t cost you any extra, but FKB receives a small donation, which helps us with our project to buy more FREE Hardcopies for kids who need them
All our posts are checked by Grammarly, the FREE online grammar checker (We still receive a donation even if you only sign up for the free account :-):
I from brazil, I’m learning englis only, I want pratice with a book kids.
I quite enjoyed this book, I used it while teaching higher level ESL. This book is useful for learning slang words and learn a little about American school life. Was easy to read while learning new words to study and promoting conversation with your students.
So glad, I also thought it was a great find when I discovered it. Danielle (site editor)
a good book
I enjoyed how this relates real people experiences from US teens to other teens around the world. I’d love to see other teens do the same, if any want to collaborate on a project like this, I’d happily edit and format 🙂
yes i like this book
almost disgusting…………….there was no curiosity to learn anything….this was a nonsense idea to publish American English teens talk…………………
Hi Shreya, thanks for your opinion, I believe the book is not supposed to teach a lesson of any sorts, it is simply observations, and the idea is people (teens etc) of different cultures can understand how other teens live. I’m sorry you did not enjoy it. Danielle
I didn`t know that there was such a good program. Frankly I am not able to speak English well.
it`s a pleasure to know this program