Talk about yourself Examiner: Hi. What’s your name? Kelvin: My name is Kelvin. Examiner: Kelvin, OK. Kelvin: I think I like economics most because I can study different kinds of demand and supply theory and I can use it in my daily life to observe the market. Examiner: OK. Kelvin: Actually, I don’t like physics too much because I need to calculate many difficult questions and all those mathematics words. Examiner: I see. Kelvin: Yeah, sure. Examiner: OK, and what would you like to study there? Kelvin: I think I would like to study something about business. Examiner: OK, that’s great. Melissa: My name is Melissa. Examiner: Melissa? Melissa: Yeah. Examiner: Hi, Melissa. Melissa: I’ve got no sisters and brothers. Examiner: And your dog? Melissa: Yeah! Examiner: Great. Melissa: I like mathematics the most because I think it’s satisfying to calculate the solution. Examiner: OK. Melissa: And English, I think, because it’s fun to learn a language. Examiner: Great, OK. Examiner: Sure, OK. Examiner: OK, that’s great.
250 Quality Conversation Starters: The Only List You'll Need Here are some great questions for starting a conversation. There are a lot of random conversation starters to get you started and then conversation questions listed by topic. You can start with the random questions or find a topic that interests you. There are tons of ways to use these questions. The title would have you believe that there are 250 questions, but there are actually more. Random Conversation Starters Here are some conversation starters that span all kinds of topics. 1. Always fun to follow up on the question by watching the video they thought was funny. 2. Everyone gets stressed out at times, and everyone deals with it differently. 3. This is a great question because you can follow up with lots of questions about what they are obsessed with. 4. Find out how they view themselves, and don’t forget to ask follow-up questions about each of the words they chose. 5. See what they are into, and you’ll have plenty to talk about. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Are they an animal person? 12.
Picture Description Lesson Plan | Tim's Free English Lesson Plans This is a fun lesson plan in which students work in pairs describing and drawing pictures. It will be useful for students preparing for Cambridge exam speaking activities. You will need this handout: Pics for describing Put the following picture on the board and hand out other copies to the class: Ask students what they can see in the picture. What’s in the background? What’s in the foreground? Go through the following vocabulary on the board: In the background/foreground we can see………….. On the left/right At the top/bottom He’s wearing…………….. He’s facing left/right/the camera He looks happy/sad/ etc. Prepositions: Next to/beside, above, below, in front of, behind. Now tell students that you are going to describe a picture and they have to draw it. Describe the following picture to them: Try to give as much detail as possible. Now put students in pairs, tell them that one person is going to describe and the other is going to draw. Follow up activity: Like this: Like Loading...
Discussion Social networking can be too dangerous for young people and should only be available to adults. Examiner: So, now we’re going to have a short discussion. You’ve got one minute to take notes and prepare together for a two-minute discussion. Remember to listen, take turns and explain your opinions. Kelvin: So, shall I start first? Melissa: Sure. Kelvin: Yeah, so we need to discuss whether social networking can be dangerous for young people and whether they should be only available to adults. Melissa: I disagree with that statement because I think young people can keep contact with old or new friends on their social network and it can develop their good relationships and it can increase their self-esteem. Melissa: I see your point, but I think it can give the teenagers a chance to notice who is good and who is bad and to try to learn how to protect themselves from these guys. Kelvin: That’s true, yes. Kelvin: Yes.
A few discussion activities for English language students What discussion activities work in class? Tekhnologic, winner of the British Council’s TeachingEnglish blog award, shares a few ideas in one of our top five articles of all time, illustrated by artist Jamie Johnson. A discussion can bring out your students’ interests and motivate them; it’s a chance for them to talk about the things they really care about. Giving and justifying opinions in English can also bring students a sense of accomplishment, as they are using the language to express complex ideas. Discussion activities encourage critical thinking, and are therefore excellent preparation for speaking tests, such as IELTS or TOEFL, which partly examine the ability to express and justify opinions in English. Perhaps most importantly, discussion activities can be great fun for students. Preparing for discussion classes The first thing you need to be aware of is the language ability of your students and how much they know about the topic under discussion. Where to find discussion topics
Using a "Three-Two-one" Speaking Activity Using a "Three-Two-One" Speaking Activity English-language teacher trainer and author Paul Nation has developed the “4-3-2″ Fluency Activity. In it, students line up (standing or sitting) facing each other. that they are already quite familiar with. It’s a great idea, and I think my colleague Katie Hull Sypnieski (my co-author in The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide) and I were able to build on it and make it even better in our classes. Here’s what we do: We tell students they are going to pick any topic they wanted, and prepare to speak about it first for three minutes, then two, and finally one (we thought that reduced time is more realistic for a first try, though extend it the next time). Next, students are allowed two minutes to review their notes, and are told we will begin the 3-2-1 activity — without their notes in front of them. It always turns out great, and the question-asking helps a lot. Did you like this activity? Here are some of their responses:
Information gap activity Examiner: So, you’re planning a trip to the cinema together. You’ve got some information about films but your information’s not complete. Ask your partner to find out the missing information. Then, discuss together which films you’d like to see and choose a film to go and see together. Kelvin: So, the first film is Karemon but I don’t know the show times for it. Melissa: Let me see, it’s at one o’clock in the afternoon and 6:30. Kelvin: So, what is the ticket price for adults? Melissa: It’s 80 dollars. Kelvin: And the next one is Mr and Mrs Jones. Melissa: They are both international spies. Kelvin: International spies, wow! Melissa: It’s a comedy. Kelvin: Comedy. Melissa: The robot has taken over the world. Kelvin: Taken over the world, wow. Melissa: The ticket price is 75 dollars. Kelvin: 75 dollars. Melissa: It’s my turn. Kelvin: It’s a romance film. Melissa: I see. Kelvin: As you know, his country’s under attack so he has to fight and save his country. Melissa: He’s very brave. Melissa: Yeah.
BusyTeacher.org It’s only natural. After all, they are trying to talk in a language they are still working on learning. Still, silence can be deadly in the ESL classroom for your students and you. 1This is How We RollYou can use this simple game as a get to know you at the start of school or later as a get to know you better activity. Speaking doesn’t have to be forced or boring when it comes to ESL class. Tell a story or personal anecdote Examiner: OK, Kelvin, so I’d like you to tell us a short personal story. Here are the topics. Please take one. Kelvin: Tell me about a great surprise you had. Examiner: OK? Examiner: OK, Kelvin, you can start when you’re ready. Kelvin: OK. Examiner: Yeah, what a great surprise! Kelvin: Actually, no, because they hadn’t mentioned anything about my birthday before the match, so I hadn’t expected they would do this. Examiner: OK. Examiner: OK, Melissa, so now I’d like you to tell us a short personal story or anecdote and here are the topics. Melissa: OK. Examiner: What have you got? Melissa: Tell me about a time when you surprised someone. Examiner: OK, great. Examiner: OK? Examiner: OK, so you can start when you’re ready. Melissa: It was my best friend’s birthday and I decided to give her a surprise since we have been good friends since Form 3. Examiner: All right, what a great story! Melissa: Yeah. Examiner: OK. Examiner: OK.
Engage Now - Student Interactions - teacher heath Do you hear your students say things like: "No! That's Wrong!" "What are you talking about?" "Stop being so bossy!" Students Learn MORE when they discover new ideas from each other. I created 4 posters to hang on the wall, model, practice and constantly refer to during lessons. PROBLEM 1: Students weren't LISTENING to each other: First and foremost, I created a list of things that I wanted to 'see and hear' my kids doing that showed they were LISTENING to each other. PROBLEM 2: Students weren't STATING their thoughts clearly: Then, I created a list of idea 'stems' that would encourage students to use evidence to back up claims - this way, other students can see why a student made a claim. PROBLEM 3: Students were ARGUING and DISAGREEING: I created a list of 'respectful' ways to disagree. PROBLEM 4: Students weren't ASKING EACH OTHER FOR CLARITY: This was so weird to me. Here's a Music Video that shows each of the 4 topics in the posters: