Hi All,
I am currently teaching at a university in China. I hold and lead an English corner (aka evening activity) once per week where students are free to come and have a discussion in English.
I am wondering if anyone has some good topics that we can discuss that are not too controversial. When I let them have free speech the only questions I get are 'do you like Chinese food' etc etc.
We have had some good discussions about the internet, space program and the like, but it is always difficult to come up with interesting topics that captivate them and spark discussions.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Eziek
English Corner Topics
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Thanks for that Iain,
The first thing I did was try asking the students however this is when they all keep quiet or want to know more about my home country which I have covered off in detail in other English corners. I get the feeling that they want me to lead the discussion on a topic that I have chosen.
If anyone has lead successful English corners let me know?
Thanks
The first thing I did was try asking the students however this is when they all keep quiet or want to know more about my home country which I have covered off in detail in other English corners. I get the feeling that they want me to lead the discussion on a topic that I have chosen.
If anyone has lead successful English corners let me know?
Thanks
Have had many such "classes".
Have students WRITE their topics of interest. That reduces the feelings of embarrassment or shyness from speaking out.
Make a simple game board (or card drawing game) that contains a lot of simple personal (but not too personal) questions. Each student has 10 minutes to go part of the way through the game/board, then they switch partners for another 10. Good conversation starters, and a good way for people to learn about each other while you sit back and monitor for good English usage. More speaking time per person, too.
Tell people to bring one newspaper clipping (English preferred, but not necessary). Each person has 1 minute to summarize the content, and then a conversation or debate may ensue. Try to teach students how to justify their arguments/statements, or how to examine such articles closely for flaws.
Example:
Headline reads, "Red wine good for the heart"
If it was a study published by wine makers, or the French, you may call a suspicion to the validity or opinionated nature of the source.
Example:
Headline reads, "Most college educated people find better jobs"
What kind of statistics are they using? Is 51% really a significant majority? How many people were interviewed?
Or you can bring in realia like photos, postcards, travel info, etc. to stimulate discussion in small groups. I NEVER had large group discussions except for the news article talks.
Have students WRITE their topics of interest. That reduces the feelings of embarrassment or shyness from speaking out.
Make a simple game board (or card drawing game) that contains a lot of simple personal (but not too personal) questions. Each student has 10 minutes to go part of the way through the game/board, then they switch partners for another 10. Good conversation starters, and a good way for people to learn about each other while you sit back and monitor for good English usage. More speaking time per person, too.
Tell people to bring one newspaper clipping (English preferred, but not necessary). Each person has 1 minute to summarize the content, and then a conversation or debate may ensue. Try to teach students how to justify their arguments/statements, or how to examine such articles closely for flaws.
Example:
Headline reads, "Red wine good for the heart"
If it was a study published by wine makers, or the French, you may call a suspicion to the validity or opinionated nature of the source.
Example:
Headline reads, "Most college educated people find better jobs"
What kind of statistics are they using? Is 51% really a significant majority? How many people were interviewed?
Or you can bring in realia like photos, postcards, travel info, etc. to stimulate discussion in small groups. I NEVER had large group discussions except for the news article talks.
I have a class of adults from different countries. I give them questions grouped in topic areas to discuss with each other. I've been meaning to put them on the web but I haven't got around to it yet. I don't know how suitable they would be for you, because a lot of the questions refer to comparisons between their native country and San Francisco. However, if you are interested.
The day after they have the discussion, I have them write a paragraph about one of the topics and I put it on the Internet. You can see what they wrote under "Writing" at http://fog.ccsf.edu/~lfried .
The day after they have the discussion, I have them write a paragraph about one of the topics and I put it on the Internet. You can see what they wrote under "Writing" at http://fog.ccsf.edu/~lfried .