Job Discussion Forums

[Alex42]

I�ve got a few conversation classes in Argentina and I was wondering if anyone has any favourite topics guaranteed to keep people talking for 2 hours!

My groups tend to be of 3-5 people in their 20s, with intermediate English skills.

Cultural differences are always good to talk about, and so are relationship issues. Next week I�m going to do a class on moral dilemmas, but after that I�m not sure...

Any ideas appreciated:-)

Cheers,

Alex

[Justin Trullinger]

How good is your library? If you've got it, check out "civic morality" in "Business Opotunities!" Headway Resource and Business Resource packs are pretty good, too.
Also, try to get hold of a game called "Scruples." Filled with moral dilemas! www.Onestopenglish.com, www.insideout.org, and the macmillan english dictionary site (google it, I don't remember the address) are all filled with fun stuff.
Also, keep at any newspapers you can find in English- if they can read it, you can make a class of it. Or tape BBC world radio. Or CNN.

good luck,
Justin

[lozwich]

As well as Scruples, there's a book called 'The Book of Questions' and it has lots of scenario based 'what would you do?' type questions.

[sprightly]

a good friend of mine was in a french class in montreal, which included canadian anglophones and immigrants from all over the world. for reasons unknown to sane people, his teacher decided that good topics of conversation would include abortion, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, and feminism.
oh, and she would give her (very strong) opinion. because that's a sure-fire way to encourage people to talk with confidence; let them know what their assessor wants to hear.

if you haven't already, doing a websearch for intercultural/cross cultural differences, hofstede's cultural dimensions, trompenaar... erm. dang. we talked about these people alst week, and already i forget. (reviewing your post, i assume you have. oops. ok--for someone else then.)

anyhoo, they talk about different cultures and the way they approach time, authority, family, work, money, privacy, etc. it might be interesting to read (if you haven't) some descriptions of how different cultures supposedly react, and then after talking about a 'moral dilemna' together, ask your students if they agree with the ranking given by the researchers.

aren't free-talking classes great? but i have no idea how to get ONE topic to go 2 hours. i might try to put in a couple vocabulary games in there, or watch a bit of an english tv show if i could get ahold of one.

[matttheboy]

"Taboos and Issues' is a great book, don't know who published it as i appear to have accidently forgotten to photocopy that page of the book. Got it here in buenos aires if you want to rent it...!

[Starglass1]

The Oscar's are coming up. Most people love movies. You can milk that for two hours easily.

-Generate vocabulary (director, cinematography, set, makeup, etc.)
-Talk about favourite genres
-What makes a good film
-What factors influence them in choosing a film to see
-First films students remember seeing when they were children
-Favourite actors & films. Why?
-If films are important to society. Why?
-What about award shows?
-Have students adlib and act out some famous scenes.
-Who they think will win Oscars/ Ask if they've seen any of the films and talk about them if they have
-Worst films
-Books to films/ Better or worse? Elicit examples
-Favourite film soundtracks and songs
-Film rating systems. (Violence, language, and sex). What are their thoughts?
-Ask them about Madonna's adaptation of Evita. That's sure to get them talking!

Download and print some famous stills from films (Google-images) to start students talking about the films and what's happening in the scenes.

[moonraven]

Tell us about your first kiss....

[sigmoid]

Most people like to talk about themselves -

work
family
favorite books, food, films, music, sports, hobbies, clothes, beer, etc.
travel - places you've been, places you want to visit
future plans
childhood memories
the weekend
pet peeves