Job Discussion Forums

[azarashi sushi]

Hi Forum...

Recently I've started teaching some conversation classes. We don't use any textbooks on these classes... just free conversation. And although I've always had group discussions in classes, it has always been as part of a more structured leson. This is the first time I've had such a free lesson... In a sense it's the total Seinfeld lesson... a lesson about nothing.

There are various levels... Most people though, have spent some time in an English speaking country and have a fairly good grasp of the language. So the objective of the lesson is listening and speaking practice and to increase vocab.

Despite being the Seinfeld lesson, they do work quite well most of the time, and I feel that the students are making some progress. Other lessons are not so successful. Most students know the deal and are ready to talk about anything. SOme read the newspaper and discuss news stories... others talk about their weekend and hobbies.

But there's only so many times you can talk about the wekend or your hobbies and interests. ..

Basically my question is : What to do in group discussion classes where students don't have so many interests or opinions or don't follow current afairs. Sometimes if I introduce a topic that no-one is interested in or doesn't know so much about that topic, there is dead silence.

And then they look at me with those blank expressionless little fish faces...

So if anyone has any tips or advice for free con lessons for students with limited interests or opinions please help.

By the way, I'm typing this really fast, so please forgive me for any mistakes.

Any advice welcome.

[guest of Japan]

I used to teach discussion classes. At the time I would select a newpaper article to read for homework. When they got to class we'd go over vocab, and some interpretation questions. Then I would distribute a sheet of questions for discussion. I told them that the questions were only a means to keep the conversation going and to keep them challenged. My best classes were the ones where the discussion tangented away from my questions.

If you try to do just free conversation with Japanese students you'll be contemplating suicide within three weeks.

[denise]

I've just started getting my students to lead their own discussions once a week. Each week, a pair of students is responsible for choosing a topic. The day before the discussion, they bring a hand-out or an article to prepare the class. The next day, they bring in four or five discussion questions. It gets the students more involved (the discussion leaders seem to enjoy calling on their friends to answer classes), and if the topic bombs, hey, it's not your fault!

d

[Capergirl]

We have conversation classes once a week for two hours. We discuss "hot topics" - controversial issues which the students can debate. (Obviously, these are adult students.) Every week, the students choose one topic from a large list of topics for the following week's class. They then have a week to research their topic and prepare to defend their viewpoints. Surprisingly, we haven't had any problems with these classes, given how "touchy" some of the topics are. In fact, the conversations the students have are fascinating. When they get into a really heated debate, the English starts flying and they come out with vocabulary that even they didn't know they had!

The teacher's job is to introduce the topic at the beginning of the class and then pass it off to the students. If the conversation starts to die out, the teacher "keeps the ball in the air" by asking relevant, thought-provoking questions on the topic. The teacher also acts as a "moderator" to make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak, no one interrupts anyone else while speaking, and no one disrespects another student's opinion. We have three classes of 8 students and one teacher/moderator per class.

If you want the list of topics, just email me @ [email protected] and I'll send it to you.

[Celeste]

Here are some books that you may find useful:

Keep Talking by Friedericke Klippel

Talk Your Head off by Branna Rish West

Conversation Strategies by Kehe and Kehe

Also, check out the conversation questions at www.eslpartyland.com

[shmooj]

To save you supplying topics that go down like a lead chicken, one thing I've found always works is to have students write down three topics they would like to discuss on little bits of paper. Each week you get a student at random to pick a topic for the following week.

Of course, the reason this never fails is that there is always one student desperate to talk about this topic - the one who wrote it. They will work hard to make sure that people talk about it. I do this anonymously but I like Denise's suggestion about someone preparing a little bit. Perhaps these students can present something and then use this for discussion.

Another thing worth doing is playing a short ten min or so section from a movie that is thought provoking. Scenes that come to mind include the scene where the two lovers decide they can't see each other any more in Bridges of Madison County, one of the "healing" scenes in Green Mile, one of the early demonstrations Gandhi leads in the Attenborough classic. You could then discuss how you feel about the film and about broader issues that these scenes touch on.

[azarashi sushi]

Thanks everyone for the responses...

I agree guest that the best classes are where the discussion goes off on a tangent... Most of the classes are OK and this usually happens. There's just a few where the students are only interested in talking about themselves or their personal interests... But maybe they're happy with that. The problem with Japan is that you never know... You're always guessing!

Celeste... I have used the book "Talk Your Head Off" ... again with limited success.

Capergirl... Thanks! I'll e-mail you.

[been_there]

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=7873

[Kurochan]

One thing you can do is ask students what TV shows they watch. If there is one a lot of people are enthusiastic about, you can incorporate discussing it into your class.

[Capergirl]

FYI: I sent the list to those who asked for it. Let me know if you didn't hear back from me (could mean a glitch in the email and I'll just resend).

[lostinparis]

this post is a bit old, but i recently discovered a great website for conversation topics and thought i'd pass it along:

http://iteslj.org/questions/

cheers

[Joachim]

It may sound shallow but.....

Articles about celebrities, from magazines such as Heat, Now, The National Enquirer, Esquire, Cosmopolitain, Vogue etc - photocopy them, read aloud in class, go through unfamiliar vocab and have a few pre-prepared leading questions.

I learned through experience that leading questions aren't neccesairily the same the world over. In Asia, it's better to see if you can link themes to students own lives.

Good luck!

[woza17]

Personal budgets has always worked for me. Draw a pie on the board, What percentage of your wage goes towards this and ask them to write down how much do they spend a week on rent, food ect. Personally I like this one because I am interested. This leads to further discussion about their savings, what are you saving for how much do you send back to your parents .

[lagerlout2006]

Unless the students are ready and able to speak it doesnt matter what the topic. There is no magic "topic" Oral English as they call it in China is worthless unless they are already functionally bilingual adults.. If not there is nothing to discuss. The teacher must create a contolled situation for students to practice in. A free for all discussion is best held in a saloon.

[gsbcn08080]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_controversial_subjects_in_wikipedia#Philosophy