English Conversation

English “Conversation” Classes are the Most Common Teaching Jobs Abroad:

Get some INSIDER** HELP with your lessons and save 100s of hours of preparation time

**[Written by an EFL Teacher working Overseas since 1992 - with a Master's Degree in Education and PGCE in TEFL]

121 pages of super helpfulness . . .

What makes a good English conversation book?

Good question!

There are tons of English books on the market. Many of these books are not specifically geared JUST for conversation, but all the skills:  talking, writing, reading, and listening.

So…. they come with tapes or CD’s that students can listen to to work on their listening skills.

So … they have short and not so short written passages that students can read to work on their reading skills.

So … they have lots of writing activities and exercises that students can use to work on their writing skills.

Granted all of those skills are important and needed- but are they really ideal for a conversation class?

No!

A good conversation book should be about TALKING!!!

So . . . a good conversation book should have LOTS of:

• topics that can be used as a basis for conversation
• verbal activities for pairs and small groups
• role play situations in which students can practice the language in the classroom before encountering similar situations in the real world
• games and fun activities in which students have to talk to participate in
• commonly used expressions that students can begin to use immediately to enhance their speaking ability
• questions that students can ask each other, so a conversation can be started and maintained
• expressions and structures (that are easily learned and remembered) that students can easily transfer to differing topics or situation. (As any teacher knows, this is particularly important for beginning and intermediate level students)

What are structures and expressions?

Structures are basic sentence patterns that are used when forming sentences. Many sentences, about any number of topics, can be formed by using basic structures. Look at these two structures.

Question: What kind of ________ do you like?

Answer: I like ___________________.

Once a student learns this structure they can talk about any number of topics simply by filling in the blanks with the topic of their choice. They can ask and talk about music, movies, politics, weather, food and more.

Expressions are just commonly used sentences or phrases that are used when communicating with others. People, even native speakers, don’t form brand new sentences when they speak, they just use the multitude of expressions already available. Expressions, like structures, can be modified very simply by changing a couple of words in the sentences to ask or talk about a large number of topics. In addition, there are many expressions that can be used to ask or talk about the same thing.

Question:

What do you think of ____________?

What is your opinion of ___________?

How do you like_________________?

Answer: I think___________________?

My opinion is _____________?

I like (don’t like) ___________?

Why are structures and expressions important?

Because they allow students to learn usable English that can be applied immediately when interacting with others. Initially they can memorize the basic structures and use them to communicate. By adding these basic expressions and structures to their repertoire they can quickly increase their conversational skills.

As their vocabulary and knowledge of how to change and modify the structures and expressions improve they will find that they can communicated with just about anyone on any topic.

What structures and expressions are included in the eBook?

• Greetings
• Introductions
• Well being
• Farewells
• Preferences
• Invitations
• Opinions
• Agreeing/Disagreeing
• Schedules
• Indicating surprise
• Indicating forgetfulness
• Indicating obligations
• Help and advice
• Lending and borrowing
• Comparisons
• Describing people
• Describing personalities
• Compliments
• Indicating anger
• Describing things
• Forgiveness
• Instructions
• Interrupting
• Directions
• Telephoning
• Restaurants
• Shopping
• Grocery shopping
• Doctor
• Pharmacy
• Banking
• Hotels
• Travel agency
• Needs and requirements
• Suggestions
• Wh__ Questions
• Can and do questions,
• “Be” questions

Most verbal interactions begin with questions.

Think about it, most people don’t just start rattling on without a reason. They are responding to questions. Structures and Expressions in English has hundreds of questions that the students can ask each other to practice using the language.

The discussion topic section of each lesson contains questions relevant to the item under review.

In the three lessons on asking questions, the questions are designed to allow the student to change the words in each question to form another question that interests them. This allows for an unlimited opportunity for students to experiment, to try new and different things, and to learn by making mistakes.

Why is this eBook a good buy?

Sure, there are a lot of sites on the Internet that have activities for English classes and countless books in bookstores. But Talk, Talk, Talk specifically focuses on paired group work that maximizes student interaction. Each lesson consists of:

• expressions and structures for the items listed above
• a model dialogue that students can follow for having similar conversations
• a discussion topic related to the structure or expression under review
• role play situations that provide additional practice

Some lessons have a game or other activity for additional practice

You may be thinking . . .  I already have a pretty good conversation book. Why do I need something else?

Well, maybe you don’t.

BUT…

• Can a teacher really have too much material?
• Does a teacher ever have enough supplemental material readily at hand?
• Do you have trouble wracking your brains to develop activities and games that are appropriate for your students?
• If there are just a couple of ideas in this book that may help fill the gap in your lessons, won’t it be worth it?

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