We humans learn our language and culture through the stories and rhymes of tales we learned as children. By learning the twenty-six most popular and enduring stories collected in Open Sesame, ESL students learn about Americans and about life in America. Open Sesame facilitates discussions comparing and contrasting American folktales and stories with those of students' native cultures. Specific American cultural values are found in the text and debated by students who often find those values confusing and in conflict with their own values. The allusions learned from these...

Eureka teaches reading skills, vocabulary building, cross-cultural awareness, and critical thinking. This student- and teacher-friendly text aids ESL students in gaining both language and cultural literacy by reading the classic fables of Aesop, the myths of ancient Greece and Rome, the romantic tales of old England, and in learning American proverbs.
American English is filled with vocabulary, idioms, allusions, and cultural values from the ancient Western world. Using Eureka , ESL students will improve their English through a better understanding of the stories and...