Job Discussion Forums

[MozartFloyd]

Perhaps this thread has been covered before, I'm not sure. Regardless, I'm interested in any ideas others have for oral English topics. I have my own repertoire of ideas, but I'm always in search of new ones. I figure share and share alike and this could be beneficial to others as well.

As an example, I recently encountered a student who was having issues with her university roommates. As seems the norm, there are four students to a room. Some like to go to bed early, others like to stay up late, etc. This was causing her and the others stress, and there seemed to be no resolution.

I hadn't thought of this before but "roommates" proved a hot topic for discussion. The students really got into it, and for once, it wasn't at all hard getting them to speak. It's something they're interested in, can relate to, and have a definite opinion about.

[Bud Powell]

Talk about dating, courtship and marriage, and current events.

I walked into class one morning (this was eight or nine years ago) and wrote on the board:

NEWS FLASH! YAO MING IS LEAVING HIS GIRLFRIEND TO MARRY A FRENCH WOMAN.

I asked the class to respond.

Whoa. Half of the class was PO'd. I couldn't believe it.

The most astounding answers came from students who seemed to have quite limited ability (or desire) to speak English. A girl who had said absolutely nothing before, stood up and expressed in a very angry manner that I was pulling "a typical American" trick in order to make them all lose faith in THEIR hero. This kid was angry and she expressed herself quite eloquently. The class clapped.

After class, she caught me in the hall with tears in her eyes and told me what you probably have already guessed. I told her that her response was one of the best I'd heard all day. Furthermore, I told her that I would be honored if she and one of her friends would join me and one of my Chinese colleagues for dinner that night. She and her roommate showed up! My Chinese colleague knew the student, and expressed surprise that she hadn't said much until then because she was an active participant in other classes.

Word got out that i bought dinner for the kid, and after that the class was a veritable riot (in a good way). I ended the semester with a lunch party for that class.

[Non Sequitur]

[MozartFloyd]

The topics of dating, marriage, and current events are per usual, but I appreciate the input. My hope is to stretch the boundaries a bit, so I appreciate the comment on Yao Ming. Great input and great story, Bud.

Also like the seat belt question, NS. And I agree, sometimes great topics come from the blindside.

It reminds me that my boss once wanted me to ask certain questions to "test the students oral English." As though I hadn't been doing that all semester. When I started asking these questions, one student said the questions were boring. Another student told that student he had no right to question the teacher. This led to a lively discussion of whether students had the right to question teachers and/or their authority.

[Non Sequitur]

[roadwalker]

Same-sex marriage can be hit or miss, but it's a current topic still. I remember bringing it up about 10 years ago and had decent conversation. Not a whole class of course, but as part of marriage/courtship etc topics.

Questions about trade-offs can be good: e.g., would you work far away from home for more money?

[davelister]

The Hot Air Balloon
English level: Upper Intermediate – Advanced
Class size: 5 – 15
Time: 'bout 40mins
[vocab to be introduced in due course; hot air balloon, basket, pilot, scenery, sandbags, perish, disaster, etc.]

1 – Introduce the topic of 'Famous People'.

2 – Ask each student to give you the name of an internationally famous (alive) person, but not a politician

3 – Write the famous names on half of the board.

4 – Tell the students that they are no longer themselves but the famous person they said. Greet the likes of Yao Ming, Bill Gates, etc.

5 – Draw a hot air balloon on the board with stick people in the basket. Introduce yourself as the pilot. Welcome them on board, briefly describe setting off, the excitement and the scenery.

6 – Oh no! Something is very wrong! We are losing height!! (draw a mountain peak beneath the balloon) We've thrown off the sandbags, but still we need to lose more weight or we will all perish!!! Let them know that as the pilot, you need to stay in the basket or everyone will be decorating the mountainside.

7 – Let them understand that there are no heroes on board, they all selfishly want to live. Give them 5mins to write down notes on why they should stay in the balloon.

8 – Each famous person states their case for their survival (I have a long life left to live / I'm light / I am a mother / I give lots to charity / I entertain millions and make them happy etc.)

9 – Hand out slips of paper and get them to write the name of the person they think should sadly go.

10 – Highlight the names that have the most votes. Initiate group debate. Only correct (or prompt self-correction) if mistakes cause misunderstanding. Get everyone to openly say who should exit from the short-list and mark each pick with a tick [check].

Depending on time and success:

11a – Joy of joys! The wind has changed direction! We are all going to be fine thanks to expert piloting skills!

11b – The chosen eXit factor winner goes to the edge, goes over BUT is able to grab the basket and is underneath holding on for dear life! (draw the stick person holding on underneath) …. we are still falling rapidly! (draw the mountain bigger) we need to choose another from the short-list! .. Then the chosen one goes over, and somehow manages to grab a hold of the feet of the 1st to exit (draw).

Repeat ankle-grabbing or the wind changes, depending on time and success.

12 – Consolidation of vocabulary [celebrity, charity, etc.] Write up on the board common mistakes with grammar etc, and get them as a group to self-correct the mistakes e.g. “I should live because my fans very like me”

13 – Homework (if required); write about your chosen famous person and what you think of him/her.

[Bud Powell]

"...Same-sex marriage can be hit or miss, but it's a current topic still. I remember bringing it up about 10 years ago and had decent conversation. Not a whole class of course, but as part of marriage/courtship etc topics..."

Roadie, you're a brave man. I wouldn't touch that topic with a ten foot Hungarian.

[choudoufu]

students tell scary stories.
do they believe in ghosts?
have they ever seen a ghost?


ask what would you do if:

you were alone at night and you saw a ghost?

you get married and your new wife/husband was a vampire/werewolf/accountant?

you drop your new iPhone7 in the toilet. it rings, and you're
expecting an important call.

[davelister]

http://iteslj.org/questions/

http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/lesson-share/lesson-share-archive/speaking/

[Non Sequitur]

[davelister]

I'd give discussion of same sex marriage a miss too.
From http://iteslj.org/questions/ , having just quickly looked through, I'd not explore the topics of baseball, corruption, discrimination, drugs, Easter, facebook, faith, meaning of life, leaders and leadership, gambling, police, pope John II, religion, super heroes in comics, telepathy, United States leadership nor world peace, and most probably some others. The topics don't appear to have 'legs', they are culturally inaccessible/uninteresting for conversation or they are inappropriate for China, in my opinion. Others may well disagree and may have a great class on 'super heroes in comics', for example. I would also check though the questions of chosen topics and edit as required, and not just print n go.

[Toast]

I've done group discussion stuff with same sex marriage before (earlier this week even), and apart from a handful of chuckles right at the start when I explained the topic I've actually received some really well thought out answers and ideas. No dramas whatsoever.

The key to any somewhat conscientious debates I guess is to not try and ram any strong opinions or ideas down their throats and just let them discuss and answer as they see fit. No right or wrong opinions - just get them talking.

I think sometimes because they act 5 or 6 years younger than their real age we tend to dismiss their ability to handle relatively meatier topics and figure the yawns and blank stares when we try to get them to talk about their favorite colors or if chicken is better than pork is just due to their lack of interest in studying English, when in reality it's just a natural response to some straight up dull shit.

"Is it okay to execute criminals?" is another topic which received tut tuts and condescension from the white knight laowais at work, but worked surprisingly well in reality.