About Us
English for Dispute Resolution (EDR) combines English as a Second Language (ESL) with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to help non-native English speakers negotiate, mediate and communicate in English.
Meet EDR’s founder, Barrie J. Roberts
Barrie has worked as a public interest attorney, ESL/ESP instructor and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Administrator for two Southern California courts. Over the past 20 years, she has created and taught a variety of English for Dispute Resolution courses, including mediation for international students at UC Berkeley and negotiation for international lawyers and LL.M. students at Chapman University Fowler School of Law. With Maria Ceballos-Wallis, she is a co-founder of InterpretADR, which provides online and in-person ADR trainings for court interpreters.
Barrie is the author of two books, The “Getting to Yes” © Guide for ESL Students and Professionals (University of Michigan Press, April 2024) and Conflict Resolution Training for the Classroom: What Every ESL Teacher Needs to Know (University of Michigan Press, 2020).
Her next book is English for Dispute Resolution: Mastering Negotiation, Mediation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (University of Michigan Press, July 2025). This book introduces non-native speakers of English to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as generally taught and practiced in the United States.
Barrie received a BA (Political Science) from UC Berkeley; a JD from UC College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of the Law); an MA (TESOL) from California State University, Sacramento; and an LL.M. (Dispute Resolution) from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law.
What is English for Dispute Resolution (EDR)?
EDR is a new field for non-native speakers of English. It combines English as a Second Language (ESL) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), so it’s like Business English, Legal English and ESL communication courses for negotiation, mediation and professional-level communication for any purpose. It focuses on the English language and communication skills needed to prevent and resolve disputes through negotiation, mediation or skillful conversation. These skills are often called “soft skills,” which are especially valued by employers, colleagues and staff wherever we work or communicate with others.
EDR for formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
EDR can prepare legal and business professionals for formal negotiations and mediations, including court-connected ADR, in English. It can also help them prepare to “serve as” mediators (provide mediations) in English. And EDR can prepare ESL/ESP instructors to help these professionals reach their twin goals for ADR and English.
EDR for daily life
Anyone who communicates with others at work, school, home or out in the community benefits from improving their communication skills. We need effective “soft skills” and strategies for preventing and resolving problems online, by phone and in person. This may be especially true for non-native English speakers who need to communicate in all these ways, cross-culturally, in English.
EDR can help non-native English speakers learn practical language and communication skills to prevent and resolve disputes in English. And EDR can prepare ESL/ESP instructors to guide students through lessons and activities that will help them reach their goals.
What does EDR do?
EDR provides:
Online workshops, courses and private EDR lessons for students and professionals
Professional skills courses for ESL and ESP instructors
Private online EDR lessons and practice negotiation and mediation sessions
Books and other resources for self-study or classroom use
Blog articles
Weekly activities
Opportunities to connect with new EDR colleagues
EDR invites everyone interested in EDR to contribute their ideas, knowledge, skills and questions.
How did EDR begin?
EDR began in 2002 as a small experiment in a summer ESL class at UC Berkeley: Could 14 international students learn basic dispute resolution skills in English during a 6-week summer session, and if so, with what results?
The short answers were “yes” and “great success.” The 14 university students from Asia and Europe improved their fluency, accuracy and confidence in English while focusing on something entirely different: playing their roles as “disputants” or mediators in dramatic role-plays filled with complex characters and conflicts. While trying to reach agreements with the characters “on the other side,” they learned natural, authentic English communication and dispute resolution skills they could use for the rest of their lives. “Two for the price of one!” according to one satisfied student.
Who is EDR for?
Students/Professionals
Learn how to negotiate and mediate in English for business, law or professional-level communication for any purpose. Improve two skills — English and dispute resolution - at the same time. If you’re an LL.M. student, prepare for challenging ADR courses with native English speakers. Meet fellow EDR students and colleagues from around the world in online workshops and other activities on this website.
Instructors
Learn how to include ADR, negotiation or mediation in your Legal English, Business English or other ESP or ESL courses, or how to create a new EDR course. Combine English and dispute resolution to give your students two valuable skills for the price of one. Meet colleagues from around the world in online workshops for instructors and other activities on this website. Connect your students with other EDR students for cross-cultural discussions, activities and role-plays.
Researchers
EDR is a new multidisciplinary field with research opportunities in cross-cultural dispute resolution, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, language acquisition, pedagogy and more. Contribute articles related to EDR and share research ideas with global colleagues. What happens when non-native English speakers negotiate with each other or with native English speakers in English? How can we prepare them to negotiate more skillfully in English?
Interpreters
Few interpreters have received meaningful training in the unique terminology, concepts, ethical dilemmas and nuances of negotiation and mediation. Take an online ADR for Interpreters training with an experienced mediator-interpreter to start creating your own new ADR niche.
What is ADR?
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provides many ways to resolve disputes without courtroom trials. “Alternative” refers to alternatives to trial, such as negotiation, mediation and arbitration.
There are two ways to think about ADR for EDR: First, all students and professionals can use EDR to improve their English and “soft skills” for any purpose. Second, law and business students and professionals can use EDR to improve their negotiation and mediation skills in English and to pursue ADR for professional purposes.
ADR as a professional field
ADR is an international field for professionals who work to prevent and resolve disputes without courtroom trials. Many countries throughout the world use ADR, especially negotiation, mediation and arbitration, in a variety of ways. ADR professionals may be attorneys or non-attorneys who use these methods for themselves or their clients, or who work as “neutrals” to provide mediation or arbitration services. Other ADR professionals are ombuds, public policy mediators, restorative justice facilitators and dispute prevention systems designers.
EDR provides training and resources to help non-native English speakers pursue their professional ADR goals in English. EDR also prepares ESL/ESP instructors to teach negotiation, mediation and ADR as part of their current courses or as new standalone courses.
ADR for “soft skills”
ADR requires participants to master valuable “soft skills” such as empathy, cross-cultural communication, active listening, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, interviewing, participating in discussions, making presentations, teamwork and leadership. These skills are the “building blocks” for negotiation and mediation but are useful for everyone, whether or not they participate in formal negotiations or mediations.
EDR provides training and resources to help non-native English speakers master these and other soft skills in more natural and fluent professional-level English. EDR also provides training and resources to prepare ESL/ESP instructors to guide students through EDR lessons and activities.
Frequently asked questions
What are your questions about English for Dispute Resolution? Check our FAQ section and suggest new questions to add.
Learn the four steps of “win-win” principled negotiation in English
The “Getting to Yes” © Guide for ESL Students and Professionals provides page-by-page explanations of GTY’s vocabulary, idioms, concepts and strategies to help you negotiate more skillfully in English.
Key Features:
Page-by-Page Guidance: The guide walks you through Getting to Yes chapter by chapter, explaining challenging words and concepts in clear, simple English.
Vocabulary Support: A detailed glossary of negotiation terms helps you build your professional English vocabulary.
Cultural Context: Explanations of cultural references and idioms that might be unfamiliar to international readers.
Real-World Application: Short stories accompanying each chapter allow you to apply new vocabulary and negotiation concepts to real-world conflicts.
Attend a free Introduction to EDR webinar to learn about the “Getting to Yes” © Guide and free online Getting to Yes © courses starting in January 2025.