Compelling Conversations for English Teachers, Tutors, and Advanced English Language Learners

Have you been watching the Olympics? What has surprised you the most? Why? Who has inspired you? How?

The Olympics reminds us of heroism, sacrifice, excellence, and beauty. It can also spark many conversations.

Although I have not had the pleasure of teaching a conversation class recently, talking about sports always sparked many enjoyable exchanges – even among non-sports fans. This lesson, an except from Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for Advanced ESL students, remains a favorite.

Feel free to use it in your English classes. Let the conversations begin!

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PLAYING AND WATCHING SPORTS

“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility.”

Michael Jordan (1963-  ) NBA superstar

Chatting: Talking about sports can be a great ice-breaker. Just do it!

1. Did you play any sports as a child? Which ones? Which was your favorite?

2. Do you play any sports now? Which ones? Which is your favorite? Why?

3. Do girls and women play sports in your native country? If so, which ones?

4. What is the most popular sport in your native country?

5. What equipment or uniform is needed for this sport?

6. How is the game scored? How is a tie decided? What is considered a high score?

7. How long is a game? Are there referees? How do fans usually behave?

8. Which athlete is best known in your homeland? Which sport does he or she play? What do people admire about this athlete?

9. Does your native country participate in the Olympics? In which sports are your countrymen most competitive?

10. What are some team sports? Which do you play?

11. What are some individual sports that you know? Which do you play?

12. Do you prefer to play team sports or individual sports? Why?

13. Which is your favorite sport to watch? Do watch any annual televised sporting event?   Have you ever gone to a sporting event? How did the fans behave?

14. Are you a fan of any special team? What do you like about them?

15. What is their nickname e.g. Chicago Bulls, New England Patriots?

16. What does their nickname hope to convey about the team?

17. Does your favorite team have a main rival? Why? Is there a team mascot?

18. Which American athletes are well known in your native land? Which ones?

19. What are some of the ways that athletes train for competition?

20. What do you think is the difference between a game and a sport? Is chess a sport? Is weight lifting a sport? Is golf a sport? Is politics a sport?

21. Who is your favorite athlete? Why do you especially admire this athlete?

22. Do you buy a certain brand of shoes or clothes because of an athlete’s endorsement? If so, which brand? Which athlete?

23. Can you name some sports that involve animals?

24. Is there any sport that you don’t play now, but that you’d like to learn?

25. Do you think any sport rules should be changed? Why?

26. If you could, would you outlaw any sports? Why?

27. Are there any sports which are legal in your homeland, but illegal in the United States? Why? Do you think these sports should be legal?

28. What are the differences between the way athletes are treated in your native country and the way athletes are treated in the U.S.? Which ways do you think are preferable?

29. Are there any disadvantages to playing sports? Examples?

30. What are some advantages to playing sports? How do you feel while playing?

31. If you could play against any athlete in any sport, what sport would you choose?

32. If you could go back in time and attend any sporting event, which would you pick? Why?

33. What makes a great athlete? Who do you think is the greatest athlete of our time? Why?

Vocabulary: Do you know all these words? Can you add 4 more words to this list?

athlete score mascot equipment     competition          referee          nickname rival

endorse endorsement fan brand

Idioms: Try to guess the meanings of these idioms with your partner.
She’s a team player. She knows the game plan.

The biology test was a slamdunk.
The price you’re asking is in the ballpark.
When I caught Bob’s finger in the car door, he was a good sport about it.
You dropped the ball.

Quotations: Which quotations do you like? Can you add one more?

1. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.”

Heywood Hale Broun (1888-1939), American sports journalist

1. “If you don’t try to win, you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s backyard.” Jesse Owns (1913-1980), American with 4 Gold Olympic medals

1. “Sports is the toy department of human life.”

Howard Cosell (1918-1995), sportscaster

1. “Sports is like a war without the killing.” Ted Turner (1938-  ), founder of CNN

1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra (1925-  ), American baseball coach

1. “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.”    Jacques Barzun (1907-  ), American historian

1. “The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”

Bruce Lee (1940-1973), film star

1. “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” Mark Twain (1835-1910), humorist

1. “Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport in the world.”
   Theodore Roosevelt (1859-1919), U.S. President, sportsman

1. “…no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues.”

Joe Dimaggio (1914-  ), American baseball player

1. “Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”

Jesse Owns (1913-1980), 4 time Gold medalist in 1936 Olympic Games

1. “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ‘me’ for the ‘we.’” Phil Jackson (1945- ), L.A. Lakers’ coach

1. “How can you think and hit at the same time?”

Yogi Berra (1925-), baseball player and coach

14. “There is no “I” in team, but there is in win.”

Michael Jordan (1963-  ) NBA superstar

EXTENSION: Find a picture of an athlete, professional or amateur, playing your favorite sport. Cut it out, bring it to class, and describe the picture and its context.

WWW. Compelling Conversations.com

Sometimes time just seems to escape, and we fall behind. Despite the alarm clocks, cell phones, and wrist watches, and many labor-saving appliances, the hours just seem to rush by, the work piles remain, and time vanishes. Modern life can feel more hectic than relaxing – even in summer.

This uncomfortable experience that life is too hectic is quite familiar to adult education students who often work two jobs, take care of their family, and go to school at night.

ESL Teacher: What do you like to do you in free time?

Adult ESL Student:  What is free time?

 Many college and university English language students feel pressured and short of time. I’ve had ESL students tell me that “sleep is for the weak” and they can’t afford to get even six hours, let alone eight hours of sleep. This lack of sleep, of course, reduces their ability to think clearly, write strong papers, and increases their stress levels.

ESL teachers, who sometimes work at two or more locations, can also feel overwhelmed and stressed by deadlines, traffic jams, and work loads. Getting to class ten minutes early is a wonderful practice, but many evening ESL instructors find it difficult to squeeze just 10 extra minutes into their crammed schedule.

Therefore, it’s useful for ESL teachers and English instructors to teach a few helpful phrases to English language learners to use when they need more time at work or school for projects and class assignments.

Can I have an extra hour?

Can you give me an extension?

Is there any way we can postpone this?

When is the absolute final deadline?

Do I have to work overtime?

Can I have the weekend off?

Is there somebody else who can do this?

Would it be okay to turn this in a day late?

Can I turn that paper in next week? 

While nobody would ever fall behind on their work schedules in the perfect world, ESL teachers and students live and work under imperfect and sometimes challenging circumstances.  We should, therefore, help our students develop the vocabulary and verbal skills to request extensions, reduce their stress levels, and shift deadlines. Students should also be prepared to explain why they need an extra time.

These requests may be denied, ignored, or accepted, but our students should at least have the vocabulary to ask for more time.

Americans love to create, read, and discuss top ten lists. Newspapers and magazines use the simple format to summarize large chunks of information in a friendly manner. Year end issues often expand the technique to create “100 best” or the year’s “ten best”, “top ten”, or “ten smartest” lists. Naturally, many English teachers use this format in their classrooms to express ideas and create discussions.

Sometimes, however, students will simply create a list and avoid providing clear reasons. In order to emphasize the need to share information and exchange insights, I often ask for a “top ten tips” to doing something. This twist also invites a wider range of topics from the practical to more philosophical, and shows respect for students knowledge and interests.

You can ask students for their top ten tips for:

choosing a school?

saving money?

staying healthy and happy?

making and keeping friends?

avoiding boredom and finding satisfaction?

getting good grades?

learning English?

traveling to a new city/country?

Break students into groups of 3-4. Give them 20 minutes to come up their top ten tips on a given topic. Ask them to provide at least one reason and/or example for each answer, and agree on a final order. During the discussions, students will use common phrases like “this is better”, “I disagree”, or “what do you think?”

What does the teacher do? Circle around, listen in, and pass out different colors of chalk for each group. I ask more questions than I answer at this stage. Have each group select a student to write their “top ten tips” on the board.

The instructor goes through the list, asking questions – both soft and hard, and engages student groups. Finally, after the instructor lead discussion, the entire class votes on the top ten tips. This democratic element takes only a few minutes, and encourages more student participation.

This flexible, communicative activity can be constantly used to create engaging, lively classroom conversations. Students enjoy sharing information, telling stories, and helping each other make sense of an often strange land where people speak a strange language. By giving students a chance to offer advice, you also get to learn as you teach!

Ask more. Know more. Share more. Create Compelling Conversations. Visit www.compellingconversations.com

The art of conversation, once considered the sign of a civilized individual, seems less common today.  Yet I treasure the moments of sharing experiences, collecting news, and exchanging ideas.  I make a point of knowing my neighbors, allowing casual greetings to become long conversations, and making time to explore the feelings and perceptions of friends and relatives in depth. These natural conversations provide information, encouragement, laughs, and pleasure. 

Life today often seems very hectic. Who has time for long lunches and civilized conversations? Yet accepting this notion cheats us and denies our responsibility for our choices. We can choose to watch television programs, play computer games, or listen to the radio rather than talk to relatives and friends.  It’s a choice.

The internet, a modern wonder, provides another way to find ideas, explore possibilities, and connect with friends. Many find surfing the internet easier, even better than having actual conversations. Sometimes international students also feel too shy to speak to the people next to them. Many Americans, it seems to me, have forgotten how to hold good, deep conversations, or even a friendly chat on the phone.  I suspect this lack of real communication lessens their daily joy. 

 Of course, adult students, immigrant workers, and other people learning English as a second, third, or fourth language face even more barriers to a satisfying conversation in English. First, English remains a confusing, difficult, and strange language. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable when speaking in this new tongue.

What questions do I ask? How can I keep a conversation going? What vocabulary words are needed? How do I show agreement, or disagreement, in a lively, yet polite way? How can I share my experiences in a clear manner? How can I have better, more engaging conversations in English?

             Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics addresses these issues for both native and non-native speakers. The focus is on learning by doing, and making good mistakes. (Good mistakes, by the way, are natural mistakes that help us learn so we can make different and better “good mistakes” next time.)  Each of the 45 chapters includes 30 or more questions, 10 or more targeted vocabulary words, a few proverbs, and 10 or more quotations. Although designed for advanced students, intermediate ESL students will find plenty of material to use and can benefit from exposure to the new words, phrases, and questions.

             Each chapter focuses on a promising conversation topic. The questions allow the reader to practice exchanging experiences and ideas in a natural style. You can add questions, skip questions, and move on to related topics. Each chapter begins with easier questions and moves on to questions that are more abstract.

    Both native English speakers and English language learners will find the questions allow one to share experiences, exchange insights, and reflect on life. The questions are conversation starters, and not scripts to follow. The goal remains to create a real dialogue, increase your understanding of your classmates, and gently push you toward using a richer vocabulary in your English conversations. Further, the engaging material allows ESL students to recycle material and use the questions outside of English language classrooms. Students learn by doing, and discover they can create compelling conversations in English!

Click here for a sample chapter on Studying English. Enjoy!

Ask more. Know more. Speak more.

Create Compelling Conversations.

Visit www.CompellingConversations.com 

Books and literature still matter in our 21^st century global culture of blogs, especially for starting conversations. In the past few days, I have had three engaging, satisfying conversations with strangers about books. How?

• Is that a good book?
• What is on your summer reading list?
• Can you recommend a good book?
• What’s the best book you’ve read this year?

Once I broke the ice standing in line, the conversation just flowed. I asked a few questions, shared a few reading suggestions, and enjoyed what had been “dead” time waiting to mail books to customers.

English language learners can develop and deepen their conversation skills with classroom practice. As English students practice more, they also develop the confidence to start conversations with co-workers, fellow English students, fellow bus passengers, or strangers in line. Conversation skills can be practiced almost anywhere, but our English classrooms provide a safe, tolerant, and natural environment to develop and deepen speaking skills.

Here is a link to a conversation lesson called “Reading Pleasures and Tastes” that ESL teachers, English teachers, literature lovers and casual readers might enjoy. It’s chapter #16 from Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics.

http://compellingconversations.com/pdf/reading_pleasures.pdf

Talking about books is fun, provides information, and helps keep our literary traditions alive. Start a book conversation today!

P.S. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Green Shadows, White Whale is on my summer reading list.

Ask more. Know more. Share more.

Create Compelling Conversations.

Visit www.compellingconversations.com