Korean Job Discussion Forums

[le-paul]

Im trying to drill my students who have little skill with grammar so that they can get a grip of the basics and we can build on this.
Everyday, I will ask them the same questions and they will learn how to answer them. The questions will all be basic conversation (small talkl stuff).
The problem is, Im a bit stuck and I cant really think of much that people use as small talk (not much on the net either).
So far Ive come up with;

1/ How are you?
2/ Did you go somewhere interesting this week?
3/ Was your day Ok so far?
4/ Was your week OK so far?
5/ What did you do last weekend?
6/ What are you doing this weekend?
7/ How is school?
8/ Did something interesting happen this week (to you)?
9/ Were you busy today?
10/ Have you seen any good movies lately?
11/ what did you have for dinner last night?
12/ what did you watch on tv last night?

after this, Im stumped

any suggestions please

[Drew345]

OK, I doubt your kids are married or live alone, but here are some ideas:

* Do you like to cook?
* What's your favorite food?
* What kind of food do you like?
* What's your favorite breakfast food?
* What do you do? What's your job?
* What are your hobbies?
* What do you like to do in your free time?
* Are you good at cooking/swimming/etc?
* What's your favorite form of exercise?
* Have you ever taken dance lessons?
* What do you do on Sundays?
* Are you married or single?
* Do you have brothers and sisters?
o Are they older or younger than you?
* When did you start to study English/Korean?
* Why do you want to learn English/Korean?
* Do you have any pets?
* Do you like baseball?
* Which sports do you like?
* Where do you live? How long have you lived there?
* Do you live in a house or an apartment?
* Do you live alone?
* Who do you live with?
* What country are you from?
* Have you ever lived in another country?
* What's your father like?
* What's your mother like?
* Who is your next door neighbor in your home country?
o What is he or she like?
o Did you get along with each other?
* Tell me about a favorite event of your adulthood.
* Tell me about a favorite event of your childhood.
* What two things could you not do when you were a child, but you can do now?
* What two things could you not do when you were.....?
* Have you ever met a famous person?
* Would you like to be famous?
* What countries have you visited?
* What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles?
* What is the nearest bus stop or train station to your house?
* What kind of people do you like?
* What kind of people do you not like?
* What languages do you speak?
* What's something you do well?
* Where were you born?
* How many times did you move as a child?
* How many cities have you lived in?
* Do you prefer baths or showers?
* What jobs have you had?
* What do you think you will be doing five years from now?
o Where do you think you'll be living five years from now?
* What is your goal in life?
* Are you a 'morning' or 'night' person?
* When do you feel best? In the morning, afternoon, or evening?
* Which do you prefer, sunrises or sunsets?
* What is the best memory of our country that you will take back home with you?
* What is the worst memory of our country?

[le-paul]

thanks for that, I really appreciate the effort there!

But Im really looking for things that people ask each other everyday as small talk, for example when you meet up with friends, sort of a...
'hello, how are you?, where did you go last night?' kind of thing.

I will steal a few of those question for my other conversation classes though. Thanks!

[margaretmary]

How about some variations on what you already have?

What's up? (said as a casual greeting, or in a more serious tone when something's actually going down)
What's going on? (see above)
What's happening? (ditto)

How's it going?
How are you doing? (or, a la Joey on Friends: How YOU doin'?)
What are you doing later? (don't forget to practice real-life, casual pronunciation: Whatcha doin' later?)

[Drew345]

Do pick up lines count?

Hey, I like your ______, where did you get it/them?

[le-paul]

perfect !
'what are you doing later?' - dont know why I didnt think of that...
and
'Hey, I like your ______, where did you get it/them?' - thats 2 - so double good. I can also use where 'did you get....' for a haircut.

and

'What's up?'(said as a casual greeting, or in a more serious tone when something's actually going down). its probably possible to get about 20 mins out of that if the sudents were asked to give a correct answer based in intonation.


Thanks

[22tea77]

How about the "You Look" sentences...

You look tired. Are you sleepy?
You look angry. Are you upset?
You look sad. What happened?
You look busy. What are you doing?
You look happy. Why?

and of course...

You look like you are posting on Dave"s. What are you asking?

[schwa]

I'll give this topic a shot (I teach in a girls middle school, average class-size 35).

You need to figure out the specific issues the kids actually discuss among themselves. If you touch the right nerve, even the most reluctant students will attempt to be forthcoming.

Some themes I've had success with this semester:
--stress
--relationship with parents
--opinions about their school
--dating
--current events (teenagers do watch the news)
--food (ever-popular)
--sleep
--health & fitness
--their community (detailed photocopies of local tourist maps in english are a hit)
--community events this week
--weather, when its unusual
--etc etc
--[asking about their favorite singer gets tired fast]

All of the above can be approached in the simplest language with relative disregard for grammar precision, to get them trying to express themselves.

EFL books & websites by their nature generalize. The kids have seen all that before. Try localizing & I'm betting they'll perk up.

[mimi belle]

What age are the kids?

Some ideas:

1. Common question when meeting someone is do you have siblings? Are they older or younger?
You might need to touch on relationship names in English vs Korean.
In Korean, there are a lot more relationship names so kids might be interested to know that in English, it's much simpler. For ex, in English, a male sibling is called a brother for a girl or a boy. An uncle can be your mother's brother or your father's brother or your mother's sisters husband. In Korean, each of these has a specific name. So build a family tree for an imaginary family and their in-laws.

2. Where are you from? The kids are probably all from the same area but one day in the future they may go to a different city. People in big cities often ask this question.

3. Small talk - weather
Weather is a classic conversation starter.
You can explain why this is so...
"Oh it's very cold today. I cant believe how much it snowed."
"It's so hot today. I hope it rains tomorrow."
"It's supposed to be sunny this weekend."

4. Small talk - Sports teams
The joke "How about those _______?(sports team of your choice)"

5. Current events
Important local or national events that get people talking
Bring in a newspaper that day and pick out (or have the kids pick out) 1-2 stories to introduce in their conversation.

6. Explain what NOT to do.
Cultural insight. Dont point out someone's weight or ask a woman her age in western culture.

[le-paul]

thanks again for replies.

mixed ages (middle school upwards).

Im making a conversation card with small talk on it.
'how are you?
what are you doing later?'
etc.

I give these out at the beginning of every class for the first ten minutes and make the kids sit and talk with them - repetition and all that. Im hoping it will sink in eventually.

[DavidVance]

le-paul,
Multifactor ESL English website - just google it.
Regards,
dv.

[le-paul]

thanks

[le-paul]

holy crap! thats a gem of a website - well done you!

[teachingld2004]

This may sound silly, but it works (some of the time)

Index cards: each one with a question word:
Who
Where
What
When
If
etc....

Another color card. (makes life easy for you for sorting later)
is
are
can
could
will
etc...

Another color:
you
they
we
I
etc...

Another color:
go to a movie
saw the news
drank
etc...

Pass out (or have them pick) cards and have them find a sentence or part of a sentence and have them go from there.

Those cards can be used tons of ways.

And give them blank cards. You can work this idea to death.