Consumer Education Resources

Below you will find student Web resources for English practice on work and life skills (based on Florida Adult ESOL Frameworks).

Consumer Education Issues

Audio Resources/Listening Practice

1. Restaurant Guide (vocabulary list, audio, quiz)
   http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-restaurant.htm
2. Housing (vocabulary list, audio, quiz)
   http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-housing.htm
3. Housing Complaints (audio, quiz, script)
   http://www.esl-lab.com/complain/complainrd1.htm
4. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (archive library of webcasts with topics, including buying a home and fair housing)
   http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/archives/
5. Crazy Housing Prices (short reading with audio and four follow-up activities)
   http://www.rong-chang.com/qa2/stories/story025.htm
6. Great Apartment Living (can be found in medium difficulty column; includes audio, quiz and script)
   http://www.esl-lab.com
7. Listening to Phone Numbers: Part 1 (a multiple choice listening activity)
   http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~lfried/activity/listening/ex1phoneex.html
8. Listening to Phone Numbers: Part 2 (a multiple choice listening activity)
   http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~lfried/activity/listening/ex1phoneex2.html
9. At the Bank (a listening activity with multiple choice questions)
   http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~lfried/call/bank.html
10. Clothes Shopping (a listening activity with multiple choice questions)
    http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~lfried/call/clothesshopping.html
11. Adult Learning Activities (by the California Distance Learning Project)
    http://www.cdlponline.org
    • Click "Housing" at the top of the page.
    • Click the life skills headings to view substantial lists of topics with the following format:
      • Page 1: Reading (with audio and some videos)
      • Page 2: Vocabulary (with audio)
      • Page 3: Spelling Practice
      • Page 4: Follow-up Activity (a matching game)
      • Page 5: Comprehension Questions
    • Scores can be printed or e-mailed.

Calculating Tips

1. Calculate the Tip Quiz (total bill calculations, ranging from easy to difficult)
   http://www.funbrain.com/penguin/
2. The Original Tipping Page (calculates different tip amounts)
   http://www.tipping.org/calculator.html

Comparative Shopping

1. Perfecting the Art of Couponing (an intermediate-level article)
   http://www.mommysavers.com/couponing.htm
2. Clothes Size Guide
   http://www.usatourist.com/english/tips/sizes.html

Consumer Education

1. Consumer Action (refers consumers to complaint-handling agencies through a free hotline, publishing educational materials in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages)
   http://www.consumer-action.org/

Insurance

1. Insurance-related Vocabulary Activities
   http://www.linguarama.com/ps/294-7.htm
2. Frequently Asked Questions on Motor Vehicle Insurance and Vehicle Crashes (Florida Department of Highway Safety)
   http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/ddl/insurancemenu.html
3. Glossary of Insurance Terms
   http://www.iii.org/media/glossary/

Landlord/Tenant Issues

1. Consumer News (Orlando's WESH 2 TV station)
   http://www.wesh.com/consumernews/index.html
2. Site Map with Various Topics for Consumers, as well as the Division of Consumer Services, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
   http://www.800helpfla.com/sitemap.html
3. Consumer Guides and Protection (a list of links from the U.S. Government's official Web portal)
   http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/Consumer_Safety.shtml
4. File a Complaint
   http://www.800helpfla.com/complnt.html
5. Material About Landlord/Tenant Issues
   http://www.800helpfla.com/landlord_text.html
6. Business and Professional Regulation
   http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr/lsc/index.shtml

Understanding Taxes

1. Thirty-eight Lessons to Help You Apply Tax Principles (explains tax history and theory; also includes a site for teachers)
   http://www.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/student/index.jsp

U.S. Concepts of Time and Money

Audio Resources/Listening Practice

1. Adult Learning Activities by California Distance Learning Project
   http://www.cdlponline.org
   • Click "Money" at the top of the page.
   • Click on the life skills headings to view substantial lists of topics with the following format:
     • Page 1: Reading (with audio and some videos)
     • Page 2: Vocabulary (with audio)
     • Page 3: Spelling Practice
     • Page 4: Follow-up Activity (a matching game)
     • Page 5: Comprehension Questions
   • Scores can be printed or e-mailed.

Banking and Money

1. Money-related Vocabulary (pictures and audio)
   http://www.languageguide.org/im/money/eng/
2. Banking Vocabulary and Definitions
   http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary_banking.htm
3. Money Vocabulary and Definitions (high-intermediate level)
   http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary_money.htm
4. Currency Exchange Rates
   http://www.x-rates.com/
5. Currency Converter
   http://finance.yahoo.com/currency
6. Counting Coins
   http://www.coe.uh.edu/archive/math/math_lessons/mathles3/pen1.htm
7. Banking Services (an audio vocabulary activity)
   http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-bank.htm#vocab
8. Questions to Ask When Opening a Bank Account (a worksheet)
   http://www.aba.com/NR/rdonlyres/A2F15447-39FA-4520-8C11-5A7BCABAD6D5/45304/BankAcctWorksheet.pdf
9. Seven Questions to Ask Before Opening a Bank Account
   http://www.credit.com/life_stages/starting_out/Seven-Questions-To-Ask-Before-Opening-a-Bank-Account.jsp

Calendar

1. Seasons, Months and Days of the Week (audio)
   http://www.languageguide.org/txt/time/eng/
2. I Can Make a Calendar (printable templates)
   http://www.enchantedlearning.com/calendar/icanmake/
3. Writing the Date
   http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/time-date.htm
4. Days of the Week (a vocabulary list with abbreviations)
   http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/time-days-of-week.htm
5. Months of the Year (vocabulary, abbreviations, number of days and seasons in North America)
   http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/time-months-of-year.htm
6. Free Monthly Calendars (in printable PDF format with one trivia item for each day)
   http://www.teachercreated.com/free/

Credit Cards

1. Choosing a Credit Card (an article from the Federal Reserve Board)
   http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/shop/default.htm
2. Information on Credit Cards
   http://www.credit-cards-info.com/

Credit Card Fraud

1. Preventing Skimming
   http://idtheft.about.com/od/preventingidentitytheft/p/PreventSkimming.htm

Credit Card Reports

1. Annual Credit Reports
   https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
2. Free Annual Credit Report Online
   https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
3. Equifax (a credit reporting agency)
   http://www.equifax.com/
4. Experian (a credit reporting agency)
   http://www.experian.com/
5. Transunion (a credit reporting agency)
   http://www.transunion.com/index.jsp

Financial Responsibilities

1. Financial Jargon (a list of terms and definitions)
   http://money.howstuffworks.com/credit-card8.htm

Identity Theft

1. Identity Theft
   http://idtheft.about.com/od/methodsofthef1/p/Skimming.htm
2. About Identity Theft
   http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/about-identity-theft.html
3. Federal Trade Commission: Your National Resource for Identity Theft
   http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft
4. Tips to Reduce Your Chances of Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft (in printable PDF format)
   http://www.seminolestate.edu/adulted/els/media/your-personal-data-is-like-gold.pdf
5. Social Security Identity Theft Information
   http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm
6. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (a non-profit consumer information and advocacy organization)
   http://www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm
7. Article: Types of Identity Theft
   http://computer.howstuffworks.com/identity-theft1.htm
8. Identity Theft Victims Guide
   http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm
9. Fight Identity Theft
   http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/
10. Protect Yourself from Fraudulent E-mails (PayPal)
    https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/general/SecuritySpoof-outside

Internet Fraud

1. Internet Fraud
   http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/internetschemes.htm
2. Internet Safety
   http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm
3. Phishing (tips on securing your computer against fraud)
   http://www.onguardonline.gov/phishing.html
4. Internet Safety Educational Site
   http://www.staysafe.org/  

Measurements

1. Fahrenheit to Celsius Converter
   http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm
2. Metric Conversion Tables
   http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion

Numbers

1. Numbers (audio)
   http://www.languageguide.org/im/num/eng/
2. Numbers (worksheets, flash cards)
   http://www.first-school.ws/theme/numbers_preschool_printables.htm
3. Numbers (audio)
   http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm

Telling Time

1. Telling Time (audio and quiz)
   http://www.esl-lab.com/time.htm
2. Bang on Time
   http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/BangOnTime/clockwordres.html
3. Stop the Clock 1
   http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/StopTheClock/sthecR.html
4. Stop the Clock 2
   http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/StopTheClock/sthec4.html

U.S. Timezones

1. Official U.S. Timezones (Click on a U.S. timezone in the map to view a running clock with that area's current time.)
   http://nist.time.gov/
2. U.S. Timezones (a U.S. map and links to information on individual states)
   http://www.timetemperature.com/tzus/time_zone.shtml
3. Daylight Savings Time
    http://www.timetemperature.com/tzus/daylight_saving_time.shtml
4. U.S. Timezones (a printout activity)
   http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/label/timezones/
5. Daylight Savings Time Internet Scavenger Hunt
   http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/hunt/hunt053.shtml

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