Consumer Education Resources

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

This Web page contains links to other websites. These links are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information in such site has been endorsed or approved by Seminole State.

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 Web casts 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 About Motor Vehicle Crashes and Insurance Coverage (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles)
   http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/frfaqcrash.html
   

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. 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
4. Social Security Identity Theft Information
   http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm
5. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (a non-profit consumer information and advocacy organization)
   http://www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm
6. Article: Types of Identity Theft
   http://computer.howstuffworks.com/identity-theft1.htm
7. Identity Theft Victim's Guide
   http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm
8. Fight Identity Theft
   http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/
9. Protect Yourself from Fraudulent E-mails (PayPal)
   https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/general/SecuritySpoof-outside
10. Fighting Back Against Identity Theft (video tips for avoiding identity theft; text is shown)
    http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/video/avoid-identity-theft-video.html

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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