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ESL forum >
Make suggestions, report errors > conversation courses
conversation courses
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Mary313
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conversation courses
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Hello everybody,
This year I have two groups of advanced level adults who really need only conversation practice. Their knowledge of grammar is excellent and the courses are aimed at improving their fluency. Reading magazine and newspaper articles and then discussing them is fine but then it becomes routine.
There is no "conversation" category in the "type" list so I spend a lot of time looking at the other categories to find new ideas and topics. So I suggest that "conversation" be included as a category.
I would really appreciate hearing from someone who is teaching or has taught adult conversation courses.
Thanks
Mary
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1 Jan 2014
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acparsons
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Here is a link t a number of conversational topics.
http://iteslj.org/questions/
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1 Jan 2014
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Mary313
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Looks good -- Thank you very much
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1 Jan 2014
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Amanda W
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Dear Mary, I teach adult conversation classes at different levels.
For every class I set a book to be read at home (suitable for the level) and prepare questions for them to think about whilst reading.
In the next lesson we discuss the chapter / extract / character /themes stemming from the content.
I touch on any grammar points that came up. We look at new vocabulary. I give them synonyms and point out useful phrases that were in the text....etc. - and similar things to those you do with articles. A lot of books come with CD �s which is good for them to listen to at home for listening practice and pronunciation. (I do listening exercises in the lesson too using the spoken book text - important for a conversation classes I think, too). If you are interested I could send you a list of books I �ve prepared and my materials, if you like the idea. It works for me. It stops the unending search every week for new material (although interesting articles can be used too that fit to themes which come up) and at the end of the course there �s a sense of achievement of having read a book.
Well, after all that, Mary. I wish you a Wonderful and Successful New Year!!
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1 Jan 2014
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Jayho
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Hi Mary There is a Conversation category but it �s not in the top search field (though you can enter this in the search field). If you look on the left side of your screen, you will see a yellow menu. Go to the Contents section then click on Speaking worksheets. Then you will see the Conversation option. There are nine subheadings. I used to teach a lot of conversation to young adult upper-intermediate and advanced students and I found the most successful and popular activity for fluency was conversation cards in pairs/small groups. Initially I used the theme based cards at ESL Partyland and then I made my own laminated sets of mixed topics called "The art of conversation" of which I uploaded most here (I created 9 sets but I think I have only uploaded 5 sets). I also created language function specific cards which the students also loved. It was interesting to observe how the students handled these cards. I would put the students into groups of 4 (and sometimes they would divide their cards into two and then pair off). Some groups put their cards in a pile and drew from the top, some groups put them all face down and took turns to pick the next one, some groups divided them equally amongst the members, some groups put them all face up and took turns to choose a card of their liking. It really showed me how these cards were used differently, and more innovatively, than a piece of paper with a list of questions/topics. It really brought out team work and collaboration as well as being fun and involving learning. Cheers Jayho
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1 Jan 2014
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Sharwong
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Mary,
I also teach upper intermediate and advanced adult students
In addition to the suggestions above, what I find increases their conversational skills and fluency are
1) Hot Seat Agree/Disagree Statements: Write out controversial statements on cards such as there is not God; Women are smarter than men; Living together is better than marriage; Marijuana should be legalized, etc.
After students have reviewed ways to disagree/agree, support an opinion with reasons and examples, randomly hand out 2 opinion cards to each student. Give them some time to read and think about their position on the statement. Then line the students up in two lines where they will face each other. Give them five minutes to discuss their topics (4 in total); ring a bell to signal the end and then each student will move to their right, thus creating a new person to talk with. Students will have their same topics, but will listen to new topics. This is okay, because they can refine their position on their own topics. This works exceedingly well and as it nears the end of the class, bring the class together by having each pair pick one controversial topic to discuss with the whole class. You can limit their talk to 30 seconds or 1 minute and give the class time to respond to the statement.
2) Role-Play
I often do role-play in conjunction with a listening/vocabulary exercise. If students have learned new vocabulary from a sitcom (I usually do "Friends"), why not create 5-6 dialogues with vocabulary inserted at the end which they must use. Ask them to do every dialogue without writing anything down (very important as they will be more spontaneous) and then at the end present one dialogue in front of the class. Students get used to this routine if you do it once a week. You can check out my Friends lessons.
3) Situations where they must reach a decision (you can probably find stuff on the web)
CAE and FCE students in their speaking tests part 3 need to do this based on a set of pictures
Have students pair up and have them discuss situations such as
What are the 12 things you need to survive on a desert island, in an earthquake, on the moon?
Who are the 10 most influential people of all time?
Give students a set of sightseeing material/advertisements. You have $500 to spend a weekend at such and such place. You have already paid for airfare. With a partner, decide you transportation there, which places you �d like to visit and where you �d like to eat.
4) Variations on using newspaper article/Listening
a) Discussion Group
After understanding an artcle/listening, and doing the comprehension exercises I usually will work with advanced controversial listening topics from youtube or the news (ie. safe injection site, panhandling, the legalization of marijuana,) then create opinion-based questions. (students can write down their answers beforehand) I group them off in 3 �s. Then have the group choose a note-taker, speaker and leader. The leader manages the conversation, reading the questions, making sure everyone speaks evenly; the writer summarizes and writes down the group �s answer and the speaker represents the group at the end. This process of article/listening-discussion group can last 2-3 lessons (our blocks are 50 minutes)
b) Retell the story (short one paragraph)
I usually pick out weird or strange stories (ghost stories, paranormal, weird stories of the week) and have students practice retelling the stories to each other. You can do this in "hotseat" fashion (one story for each student) or in jigsaw fashion (3-4 stories). Then students must retell (no reading, paraphrasing, etc), give opinion, explain any new vocab and then ask the other person their opinion about it. If you are doing paranormal stories, you can ask the group at the end to pick the most credible story.
I hope these strategies help!
Sharon
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1 Jan 2014
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Doot
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If you look on Amazon.com and google Alanna Jones - she has a number of communication/ team building books. There are some examples that you can look at online. I like these books because there are discussion questions for each activity and students have to talk while doing something together. I sometimes have them answer the questions on paper instead of together as a group. I also find using short clips on youtube, or an short article from a magazine or newspaper works well. If you look at Psychology today online you will find so many useful topics and articles that might prompt more ideas. |
1 Jan 2014
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Mary313
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To all these wonderful people who answered - THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH.
Thanks for taking the time to write and give me your ideas. It �s all very interesting and useful.
Mary
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1 Jan 2014
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