Job Discussion Forums

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

Hi everyone........

Can anyone recommend a good textbook for teaching conversation to adults.....beginner or intermediate level? I've been here a year and I'm just starting to get some good private work with adults, but I've always worked with children.
I have a group of older adults who are really great, and I plan on using newspaper articles, etc with them, but any other suggestions on what to do with a group of 6 ages 40-60 would be great.
I feel like I need a text to get me through some of my private lessons....but I don't know because I've never taught any privates!!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the experience as a new challenge and appreciate any insight/suggestions.
Also, specific names of texts would be useful.....Thanks!

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

You really need to pick books that suit your teaching style. If you're still figuring out what your own teaching style is, don't sweat it too much. Just go to any major bookstore and browse the books. Find what suits you. Or, pick the one that's closest to what you're used to using at your full-time gig.

One thing some people do is go with the students to pick out the textbook. You can do this in the place of a level check. I wouldn't charge for your time then, but if the student purchases a book, you can be pretty sure they are going to stick around for a while. The time you spend will be made up for with future steady income.

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

Since you mentioned conversation lessons, it would be also good to get some photocopiable resource books (but boy that is expensive!!!) where you can get language games to practice grammar, vocabulary, etc.

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

I think the Internet is useful for this too. Will you be teaching the student at your home? Regardless of the location, relevant activities from the Internet can be obtained pretty quickly witha few esl activity searches using Google.

Remember to try and find things related to things of interest to your students.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Beginner level conversation courses with newspaper articles? I would strongly urge you to reconsider. If the language level is not too difficult, you will run into a problem of having enough time.

Just what sort of conversation class have you/they envisaged? What exactly is the goal of this course? Travel English? Use Passport or some similar book. Improving Grammar? Improving listening skills? Expressing opinions? Look at The Active Learner to make students help themselves.

BobbyBan · Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 201

This often depends on what your students want English for. For example, are they interested in travelling or using English at work or are they just those who want it for a hobby.

I sometimes have trouble with my privates when they don't show much interest in things but have a vague desire to study English.

As Glenski says Passport is good for those wanting travel English and it isn't too high or too low for most intermediates.

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

the adult class is pre-intermediate and they are studying for a hobby. the girl i'm taking the class from says she usually takes an article to class and offered little more.......just thinking about where to start.
the kid.....well......i need to do some reading and writing with him and he's 8 and pretty smart.
VAGUE......what a perfect word to describe things here!!
After 3 years living abroad in non-english speaking countries, i'm forgetting how to speak myself.....any suggestions?

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

the adult class is pre-intermediate and they are studying for a hobby. the girl i'm taking the class from says she usually takes an article to class and offered little more.......just thinking about where to start.
the kid.....well......i need to do some reading and writing with him and he's 8 and pretty smart.
VAGUE......what a perfect word to describe things here!!
After 3 years living abroad in non-english speaking countries, i'm forgetting how to speak myself.....any suggestions?

BobbyBan · Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 201

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

Thanks......I use the Finding Out series in my normal job....it's o.k i guess, but I think it might be a bit juvenile for this boy.
I'll try using articles and see how it goes.
The reason I put up the post in the first place was because I don't have any experience with adults and was looking for some ideas.
I've been to the ESL section in Kinokuniya, but there's so much stuff!!

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

'Conversation Gambits'...Keller and Wagner....excellent for ideas and discussion starters/strategies. This book provides common phrases to practice with each topic.

'Idioms From Square One'....Barry Ward. Excellent book. Really useful stuff with about 6 exercises for each topic.

My intermediate adult class had really enjoyed and benefitted from the lessons I've done using these books!

dove · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 271 Location: USA/Japan

Thanks for the book recommendations, Anne. I'm always on the lookout for what works for other teachers, especially for private lessons. I know a lot of teachers of privates just wing it and small-talk for an hour, but I find that students lose their motivation with those type of loose lessons.

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

I remember 'Conversation Gambits' from university times. The book is SO old! It contains phrases for functions (interrupting, appologising, asking for info, etc) and then some tasks. It may be good for 20 minutes but certainly won't last long.

I also use http://iteslj.org/questions/ to download topics questions to discuss in class. Prior to discussing, I give them vocabulary related to the field and we work with that for some time.

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

The book cannot work for everything, but combined with other resources, including the web-site mentioned--which is fantastic, it has some good ideas.

It is true about teachers who 'wing-it'; the previous teacher of the class did exactly that. It is good to talk with your students, but there should be some structure at times, as they are paying to learn!!
I've found my class of adults to be so rewarding. They are there because they WANT TO BE THERE!!! They are laid back enough, that if they only learn a couple new words or phrases in the 2 hour lesson, they are happy with that.
As a teacher, it had given me new areas to explore, and the students, who have taken me out to lunch and been so kind to me, have shown me how wonderful and generous the people can be in this country!!

Any other tips/ideas/suggestions about privates are very welcome.....especially in Tokyo.
I'm going to try to go it alone and put together more privates and maybe a part-time gig here!
It seems like there is a good market for kids and I do have some resources for kids lessons, so that might work well, as many people just don't want to teach them.
I'm making up some flashcards from a web-site:

http://www.eslflashcards.com

Bingo is always good for kids too!!

Thanks for anything else anyone can contribute.