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Conversations in The Classroom HUE
Conversations in The Classroom HUE
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Cover design: Chris Cotter Card design: Chris Cotter Conversations in the Classroom - 2 www.headsupenglish.com
Introduction .... 4 What is Accuracy? . 5 What is Fluency? ... 6 Balancing Fluency and Accuracy .... 8 Productive and Receptive Levels 9 Activities 10 List of Chatter Questions . 25 List of Question Cards 28 Card Instructions ..... 32
Chris Cotter
Conversations in the Classroom - 4 www.headsupenglish.com
Accuracy refers to the mechanics of the language. Students address and improve on the following ideas: 1: Clear and articulate speaking or writing. 2: Language free from grammar mistakes. 3: Words spelled and/or pronounced correctly. 4: Language appropriate to the situation and/or context. When a teacher, classroom, or student fails to consider accuracy in the class, then students may sound less fluent and capable with the language. This can quickly cause problems when students need to use the language for more than casual conversation. For example, let's say a businessperson uses English for email, as well as regularly attends teleconferences with the head office. Because English ability is so visible, it oftentimes easily gets confused with overall job ability or competence. The businessperson thus sounds less capable in the world of business, especially with peers and colleagues he doesn't regularly and directly work. It really isn't much different than a colleague who dresses in shorts and stained t-shirts. In most business industries, peers simply don't take him seriously or believe him to be fully competent. There are unsympathetic listeners to consider too. Most native English speakers in the real world outside of the classroom don't have the background or the patience to work through the mistakes of a non-native English speaker. Whether the mistakes come from the native tongue of the students, are pronunciation problems, grammar problems, or even cultural differences, breakdowns in communication occur. What had been intelligible in the classroom for the teacher and other students is suddenly no longer intelligible outside the classroom. It must be noted here: Too much attention to accuracy results in students unable to use the language. They breakdown the sentences, translate them, and look at the sentences from different angles to minimize mistakes. This results in very slow response times. The language becomes less able to carry out its purpose, namely to effectively communicate ideas and information.
Fluency focuses on the flow of language. Sentences must be spoken smoothly and with few pauses. In addition, students respond to questions and information quickly. Lastly, it's important that students participate in a conversation, not simply react to it. There are a number of factors which affect fluency. To start, unfamiliar material results in less smooth, less quick language production. This is especially evident when the teacher first presents the target language (grammar or vocabulary). Students of all levels, when faced with new material, must process and practice it. A certain level of automaticity must be achieved before also gaining a level of fluency. And what is automaticity? The term refers to the recall time on the target language. Students work towards producing the new structures naturally and with less thought. When students practice a word, phrase, or sentence structure, then the new material becomes automatic. Students require less time to think about how to produce the language. Improved automaticity directly affects fluency. It's important to note that too much information presented and practiced at once hinders fluency. For example, if students must become familiar with new material, longer and richer sentences get in the way. In short, there's simply too much to juggle all at once. Of course the whole of the lesson shouldn't be restricted to short sentences that narrowly focus on the target grammar and/or vocabulary. However, restrictive practice at the start improves productive fluency later in the lesson. As the lesson progresses and students become comfortable and familiar with the target language, additional information for longer, richer sentences can be worked into the lesson plan. Response time also measures fluency. If someone asks a question, and the student takes several seconds before giving any answer, this can be considered poor fluency. Slow responses most often occur with lower-level students. However, even higher-level students may struggle with response times. In both cases, students may know the grammar or vocabulary, but must nevertheless process it when encountered. In short, it takes time to retrieve the needed information. This is especially true with higher-level students, who may have studied the language for years and years. Conversations in the Classroom - 6 www.headsupenglish.com
With a clearer definition of accuracy and fluency, let's now look at how to effectively balance the two. Although some ideas and information has been briefly mentioned above, it proves important to now discuss the balance as a separate entity. When the teacher develops a lesson, the early portions of the lesson generally get devoted to acquisition of the target language. Students need to learn the new material and produce it accurately. As a result, activities tend to be narrowly defined. This allows students to explicitly focus on one aspect of the target language. And as students become comfortable with the one aspect, then additional points and/or information can be added. Students don't need to juggle too much information. Of course, as the students practice, the teacher shouldn't expect zero mistakes. No matter how much practice occurs, mistakes continue to occur. In addition, the teacher shouldn't restrict the lesson to controlled and repetitive activities. For example, if students drilled and drilled and drilled the language for the majority of the class, then everyone would quickly become bored. There would be little challenge, little engagement, little interest. Both the students and the teacher wouldn't offer qualitative thought to the lesson contents. It should be noted that drills and controlled activities improve fluency too. Improved familiarity with the target language means an improved level of automaticity. This then translates to quicker and smoother response times. However, as was mentioned earlier, fluency consists of more than quick responses to questions. Students must also be able to access and activate the knowledge. Students must be able to add detail for richer responses. Students must be able to participate in a conversation. Hence the latter portion of the lesson gets devoted to these other aspects for better fluency. With increasingly open-ended activities, such as provided in this resource guide, students must provide longer and more detailed answers. Students further mix grammar and vocabulary from past lessons. They also mix pre-existing knowledge gained from personal studies, interest, and exposure to English with the new material. All of this allows students to create more realistic and richer conversations, which they may also immediately apply outside the classroom. Conversations in the Classroom - 8 www.headsupenglish.com
Let's conclude with a brief word on productive and receptive levels, as both connect to accuracy and fluency. Productive and receptive levels can be defined as the following: Productive Level: This refers to language use, specifically speaking and writing. Receptive Level: This refers to listening and reading, or input and comprehension. For effective communication to occur, students must be able to produce and receive information. A poor productive level may mean that students have the information but can't speak quickly or correctly. On the other hand, students may try to dominate a conversation because of a poor receptive level. They speak and speak without actually participating in the conversation. Attention to productive and receptive levels ties directly to accuracy, fluency, and the activities in this resource book. A teacher may correctly assume that students understand the target language, and thus ignore additional opportunities to improve language production. In other words, the teacher ignores activities for better accuracy and fluency simply because students understand the new material. An apt analogy would be assuming someone a good driver after only a few sessions behind the wheel! Drills are needed to improve accuracy and response time. Conversely, the teacher may spend too much time on drills and short activities that don't allow opportunities for rich and detailed use of the language. This results in a poorer receptive level because students don't have the chance to meaningfully interact with one another. To conclude, the teacher must not only consider accuracy, fluency, and the balance of the two, but he must also consider both sides to language use. This resource guide has a mix of activities that focus on productive and receptive levels in connection with improved accuracy and fluency.
This activity encourages students to do more than just ask a question, answer it, and then move on to the next question or activity. Lower-level students are often guilty of this, but higher-level students may fall into a similar pattern in the classroom. Answer, Add, and Ask ensures students develop one question into a short conversation. Students get into pairs and receive from three to five cards. Student A turns over a card and asks the question to his/her partner. Student B answers the question, adds information, and asks a related question. For example: Student A: Have you ever eaten something really strange? Student B: Yes, I have. I ate a pickled pig's foot in Japan once. I didn't know what I ordered because I didn't speak the language. I tried it and it tasted terrible! How about you? Have you ever eaten something really strange? Student A: Yes. Once I ate... Students may repeat the process as they continue the conversation. As students add information to the initial answer, the conversations among each pair will become significantly richer and more interesting. The teacher gives students the same number of cards. However, a time limit of ten minutes is set for the activity. Students should try to speak as long as possible from one question, yet remain on topic. Once the conversation lags or wanders far from the initial question, a new card is drawn. The pairs who have drawn the least number of cards win.
If accuracy is the focus of the lesson, then the teacher should include this activity in the lesson plan. Although overly long pauses aren't okay as students still need to maintain the conversation, a slower speaking speed to get grammar, vocabulary, and any other language points correct isn't a problem.
Students get into groups of three. They decide who will be student A, B, and C for the activity. Students A and B will speak together, and student C will monitor for mistakes. The teacher distributes three cards (or six cards, or nine cards) face down. Consider three cards as one round. As the teacher doesn't want to end the activity in the middle of a round, he should be aware of how long each round will take and how much time he wants to devote to the activity. Students read the first card. Students A and B begin the conversation, and student C listens for mistakes. Student C should not interrupt the conversation, but should instead take notes of mistakes to ensure accurate reporting. The conversation continues for a set time, as determined by the teacher. Three minutes works very well. The conversation ends, and student C reports any mistakes. Equally important, and if possible, he/she should correct the mistakes and provide an explanation. The information may be given in English or the native language of the students (assuming all class or group members speak the same mother tongue). So if student B made several mistakes with the future tense, student C would point this out and explain/review: be going to + main verb. Students rotate roles and repeat.
Back to Back Discussions works as a great tool to improve listening. Without the benefit of nonverbal cues, students focus much more intently on listening to the conversation. In addition, when students miss a word here or there, they make intuitive leaps based on the context of the sentence/conversation, not on gestures, facial expressions, etc. Students get into pairs and arrange their chairs to sit back to back. The teacher distributes two question cards to each student. More questions may also be distributed, but the activity then requires more time. Students take several minutes to read through the questions for comprehension. The teacher monitors and offers help and clarification where needed. Students ask and answer the questions back to back. All but the weakest class of students should ask at least one follow-up question. Higher-level classes must ask follow-up questions and add information to the conversation. Continue through the questions, alternating roles from question to question. Optional. Students switch partners and repeat the activity. This improves fluency because students have the chance to engage in a new conversation yet reuse much of the material in the previous steps.
Listening is integral for successful communication. In the classroom, students should be given opportunities to improve listening skills. Conversations and interactive activities are but one means. Monologues, dialogues, and other similar activities are other examples. Always consider listening as an active skill, even if students are sitting quietly. They are busy breaking down the language.
Students work on creativity, which can help with unanticipated answers. Sometimes students understand the grammar and vocabulary, but doubt their comprehension because the answer was unexpected. This activity builds some confidence in this regard. More importantly, it's just fun!
The teacher pairs up students or places them in small groups. Anything smaller than four people together works well. Larger groups usually mean two students or more take a passive role and don't participate in the conversation. Up to ten cards are distributed per group, face down. More cards mean the activity takes longer, but it also then offers additional opportunities to meet the objective. The top card is turned over, and all students read the question. Everyone has one minute to think of the most fantastic and interesting answer possible. Each student gives his answer, as well as provides any additional information too. The tales continue around the table. So as to encourage all students to listen, understand, and think about each answer, students vote on the most fantastic answer. The student whose answer was deemed the most exciting receives a point. If two students receive an equal number of votes, then both receive a point. Pairs/groups continue to the next card, and repeat the process. At the end of the activity, tally the points to determine the winner with the most fantastic tales.
Guess the Question requires students to listen to an answer provided by their partner, assess the information, and guess the appropriate question. This activity helps students with question formation, as well as promotes active listening.
Students each receive two question cards. More cards may be distributed by the teacher, but additional time is then required to complete the activity. Students should read the questions and think of appropriate answers. In addition, with lower-level students, the teacher should ensure that students fully understand and are able to answer the question cards. Students find a partner. Student A provides his answer. Lower-level students generally have little exposition, which is okay here. Higher-level students generally give more detailed answers, and so must consider how the information is presented. The answer should directly address the question, with subsequent information offering detail and support. Student B guesses the question. Students rotate roles and repeat. Student B now provides his answer. Student A guesses the question. After the students have gone through the cards, students can select one question from each partner for discussion. The teacher should allot roughly five minutes for this step, thus ensuring both students have the chance to talk.
Preparation is often an important step for students, especially in lower-level classes. If students have the chance to read questions, think of possible answers, and work out any language problems before a conversation, the flow of the language improves.
In this activity, students want to speak and speak and speak. Neither the students nor the teacher should place much concern on accuracy with the language, unless the sentences come out completely unintelligible. Students will focus on fluency. They just get the words out and keep the conversation flowing. This activity works well as a warm up activity. The teacher pairs up students based on ability. Each pair should be of roughly equal speaking skill, else the stronger student will dominate the conversation. The weaker student won't get the much needed opportunity to practice. The teacher next places students in pairs or groups up to four. Student A reads the question aloud from his/her card, and then provides the two statements. One student from the pair turns over a card, and asks the question. The other student answers the question. However both students will need to provide additional information, ask follow up questions, and sustain the conversation's flow for as long as possible. Any pause of ten seconds or greater signals the end of the conversation. Note: With lower level students, the students may pause for up to twenty seconds. After the conversation ends, the initial answerer draws a new card and asks the question. Again, the paired up students maintain the conversation for as long as possible. Repeat the process. After ten minutes, the teacher stops the activity. Pairs count how many cards remain. More cards are better than fewer cards, as this demonstrates the ability to maintain the flow of the conversation.
Students must answer questions quickly and creatively in this activity. They also need to mislead one another. The combination of the two makes One Lie and One Truth difficult, as slow responses could signal which of the two initial statements isn't true. Questions which focus on personal information work best.
The teacher distributes one card to each student. He will answer the question twice. One answer is the truth and one answer is the lie. For example, the following question would generate two statements: Question: You have one supernatural ability. What is it? Answer (truth): I would want to fly. Answer (lie): I would want to be invisible. The teacher allows students five minutes to prepare their answers. Equally important, the five minutes should be used to anticipate follow-up questions and imagine appropriate answers. Notes may be taken during this time. Students now get into pairs or groups up to four. Student A reads the question aloud from his/her card, and then provides the two statements. Other students have three to five minutes to ask follow-up questions in order to determine which statement was the lie. Here the previous preparation and note taking proves important, especially with the lower levels. After the allotted time, student A announces which of the two sentences was true and which was false. Based on interest in the real answer, the students in the group may spend a few minutes asking additional questions. Pairs/groups repeat the previous steps for student B, then student C, and so on.
Students work on listening skills in this activity, as they must assess what was heard. They next must accurately relay the information to a third student. A communicative element has further been added, because students answer the questions relayed. Pickle in the Middle works well with lower-level students, or as a Warm Up for some intermediate classes. The teacher selects three questions from the packet of cards for each group. These are asked and answered in the activity by the groups. Students are arranged into teams of three. Each person receives on question card. Student A quietly asks the first question to Student B, who is the pickle in the middle. Student B may not take notes and must remember the question. Student B then relays the question to Student C. Note: For classes with lower-level students, the teacher should pre-teach, "What did you say?" Student C answers the question. As in the previous step, he quietly relays the answer to Student B. Student B then relays the information to Student A. Students rotate roles. Student B asks his question to student C, who is now pickle in the middle. Student C then relays the question to Student A. Student A answers the question. Students once more rotate roles and repeat.
Consider cool-down activities at the end of the lesson as an opportunity to review target language in the lesson. If students can
effectively and quickly use the new material in short activities, it provides an effective marker of what has been accomplished in the lesson.
Students work toward improving response time, a skill especially useful for students who focus on accuracy and tend to slow down the conversation. In this activity, the teacher encourages students to go through the deck of questions as quickly as possible, paying less attention to lengthy answers and mistakes. Of course, students must still provide intelligible responses! The teacher places students in pairs and explain the activity. The purpose of the activity is also explained, namely to improve speaking speed. Distribute at least thirty cards per pair of students. Because each pair attempts to get through the deck in ten minutes, more cards are better. Ideally, no one should finish the activity in the allotted time. If more or less cards need to be distributed, the teacher should also consider student ability and the difficulty of the questions as a whole. Student A reads a question and student B answers it. If student A can't clearly understand an answer, then student B will need to clarify, explain, or restate it. As students don't rotate rolls just yet, student A will continue to draw cards and ask questions. Move through the deck as quickly as possible. At the end of ten minutes, pairs count the question cards which were answered. The more cards the better. Each pair gathers both the cards they unanswered and the ones remaining. Shuffle and pass the cards to another pair of students. This ensures a new set of questions for student B to answer. Students now rotate roles and repeat the activity, with student B asking questions and student A answering them.
The teacher needs to allot at least thirty minutes to complete this activity, as students create and write a story based on the cards. The class may hand in the stories as an assignment, or they may read the stories aloud to classmates. If the latter is chosen, then additional time is needed for everyone to present their story.
The teacher writes on the board the following: setting: characters: problem: He should next explain that every story usually addresses these three points. The class brainstorms together some settings, characters, and problems from well-known books and movies to highlight the idea. The class forms groups of three to five students. Several cards are distributed to each group. Students receive a minute or two to read through and understand the questions on each card. Students write a story and include one of the questions from the cards. Because this can prove difficult, especially with students not especially creative, encourage students to first imagine the setting, characters, and problem. Once they have a general idea, it proves much easier to begin the story. Students must incorporate as many of the questions (or answers based on the questions) from the cards. Note that this is quite difficult, and should only be done with higher-level students. Students must begin the story with one character asking the question, and another character asking it.
This activity works well with current events topics because of the rich discussion which ensues. However, Talk and Trade works well whenever students need to focus on a combination of accuracy and fluency. The activity also improves structural clarity.
One card is distributed to each person in the class. Each student also receives a few minutes to read the question and think of answers for discussion. Students pair up. Student A reads his question, then provides an answer. A discussion should ensue for up to three minutes. Although students may be able to speak longer, the teacher wants them to have several conversations. Student B reads his question and answers it. Again, the two students should have a discussion for several minutes. The teacher says stop. Students trade cards and find another partner. With the new partner, each student reads the question then answers it. Of course the conversations will differ, but some information from the previous conversations will get reused. This improves sentence patterns, key grammar, and vocabulary. With questions which focus on current events, students will better and more succinctly be able to support key ideas as they recycle and add to ideas.
When the teacher reuses the same activities or offers only a slight variation, student talk time increases. Fluency and accuracy also improves because students use the same information again and again. Lastly, the teacher doesn't need to spend valuable class time explaining several different activities, which then reduces teacher talk time.
Talk and Walk requires student to hold a conversation while performing an unrelated but simple task. Students must talk and walk. The movement proves slightly distracting, particularly so for beginners, which means they must more intently concentrate on language production. In addition, lengthy answers must be given, which further adds to the difficulty of this activity. Students get into pairs. The teacher distributes two question cards to each pair. One question starts the conversation. The other question serves as the emergency back-up question should students get stuck and their conversation lags. The teacher establishes a start and end point for the walk. Students should be able to walk for at least two minutes, guaranteeing ample time for a real, albeit short, conversation. A hallway proves ideal, but any large, open space will work almost as well. The classroom can also be used, but desks may need to be moved to provide the needed space. One student asks his partner the first question from the board. The partner answers it, as well as provides additional information, follow-up questions, and so on. This is done as the two students are walking side by side. Conversations should continue until the pair of students reach the end point indicated by the teacher. The teacher wants to ensure enough space between pairs. Once the first pair of students gets ten or fifteen steps ahead, then the second pair of students begins to talk and walk. This continues until all students have talked and walked.
The title of the activity says it all: Students speak for two minutes per card, thus having a ten-minute conversation when five cards are used. The activity works especially well as a warm up or a cool down in any language classroom.
Students find a partner. Small groups of three may also be used. However, groups of four or larger aren't recommended, as the short nature of the activity limits individual talk time for each student. With four or more students per group, each person doesn't receive enough opportunities to speak. The teacher distributes an equal number of cards to each pair/group. The cards should be face down. Students turn the top card over, read the question, and talk for two minutes. There shouldn't be long periods of silence, and students should definitely not finish the conversation in less than two minutes. This means everyone will need to add information, ask additional questions, and so on. At the two-minute mark, the teacher says, "Change!" Students draw a new card and begin a new conversation for two minutes. Continue through the deck distributed to each pair/group.
In warm up activities, the teacher shouldn't worry about mistakes by the students. They may not have spoken English for several days, a week, or even longer. As a result, even stronger students may make slips with well-known grammar and vocabulary. Give the class the chance to get the English wheels turning.
Students guess their partner's answer to a question in What Will Your Partner Say? This activity not only provides opportunities for improved accuracy and fluency, but it also serves as an activity that builds camaraderie. As such, it proves especially beneficial early in the course when students don't know one another.
Students get into pairs and introduce themselves. The teacher should allot about five minutes for students to talk about their hobbies, interests, jobs, etc. With lower-level students, some direct questions may provide the guidance needed to successfully talk for several minutes. Note: If students already know one another, then this step may be ignored. The teacher distributes two question cards to each student. Students read the questions, understand the questions, and think of an answer that their partner will likely give. The teacher may allot two minutes here. Student A reads one question aloud. He also provides the answer he believes his partner will give. Student B now provides his answer to the question. The pairs can compare what was right and what was wrong with the initial guess. Intermediate and advanced students can also engage in a short discussion, thereby adding more information and detail to the conversation. Students switch roles and repeat through the cards.
This activity works well with topics that provide opportunities for rich, extended discussions. For example, because little conversation can ensue, a poor question would be: What's your name? A good question with a lot of follow-up opportunities would be: What do you want to do in the future? It's recommended that the teacher go through the deck of cards to select the best questions. The teacher places students in pairs or groups of three to four. The larger the group, the more time the activity requires because everyone must participate in the conversation. The teacher next distributes three cards to each pair/group. The cards should be face up, as the students will work at their own pace and focus only on the questions they find interesting. As a variation, the teacher may select three questions beforehand and write these on the board, in which case the whole class talks about the same topics. Ten minutes are allotted for the conversations. Students select which question to discuss first. They talk only as long as the conversation interests them and then move on to the next question. If a pair/group talks for ten minutes on one of the questions, that's great. If another pair/group has three different conversations based on the three cards, that's great too. The sole requirement of this activity should focus on how much speaking takes place. All pairs/groups must talk for the full ten minutes, with no pair/group finishing early.
A class of weaker students may spend twenty or thirty seconds putting together a follow-up question. To limit these long pauses, first select a question and write it on the board. Elicit possible follow-up questions from students, either individually or in pairs. Write these on the board so students now have a few ideas when they get stuck.
The following is the complete list of questions from the Chatter Cards. The questions the follow work best with lower-level students. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17: 18: 19: 20: 21: 22: 23: 24: 25: 26: 27: 28: 29: 30: 31: 32: Who is your best friend? Why? How tall are you? Is there anything special you like to do in the winter? Do you make friends easily? Why/not? Is there anything special you like to do in the summer? What time do you usually leave your house in the morning? What school subject do/did you like the least? Can you say the alphabet backwards? How many nieces, nephews, or cousins do you have? Which holiday do you like the most? Did you have any pets when you were younger? If yes, what were their names? Do you have any pets now? If yes, what kind of pets do you have? What kind of days do you like? What do you usually do on those days? What kind of days do you dislike? What do you usually do on those days? How often do you exercise? Is this too much or too little? Who do you look like more, your mom or your dad? Why do you think so? Who do you take after more, your mom or your dad? Why do you think so? Which weighs more, a kilogram of cotton or a kilogram of gold? What color are your socks? Are you a shy person? Please explain. Have you ever stayed up all night? If yes, when? Why? Have you ever lived overseas? If yes, when? Where? How many days are there in a year? What's today's date? Are you a boring person? Please explain. Do you like English? Why/not? Which do you like better, the morning, the afternoon, or the night? Why? What day is it today? What are the days of the week? What are the months of the year? What year is it? Have you ever stolen something? If yes, what did you steal? Conversations in the Classroom - 25 www.headsupenglish.com
The following is the complete list of questions from the Question Cards. The questions are best used for upper-level students. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: If you could play one musical instrument professionally, what instrument would you want to play? Why? If you could call anyone in the world, who would you call? What would you talk about? What adjective would you use to describe your first kiss? What adjective would you use to describe a recurring dream? What advice would you give to someone just starting to learn English? You can "unknow" something that you now know. What is it? You have one supernatural ability. What is it? If you could rid your family of one thing, what would it be? Why? You have the chance to make a new law. What is the law about? How does it affect people?
10: Would you ever consider starting your own company one day? Why/not? 11: Would you ever consider volunteering in a needy or impoverished country? Why/not? 12: Would you ever donate $10,000 to a charity? Why/not? 13: If you could change your birthday to a different month, when would you like to celebrate it? Why? 14: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why would you want to go there? 15: You plan to repaint the outside of your house. What color do you decide to paint it, besides white? Why this color? 16: Someone gives you a brick of gold. What do you do with it? 17: What is the most beautiful place you have ever visited? Why was it so beautiful? 18: If you had to be homeless for a year, in what country would you prefer to be homeless? Why? 19: If you could have any animal for a pet, what animal would you choose? What would you name it? 20: If you were suddenly to lose one of your five senses, which would make your life the most difficult? Why do you think so? 21: If you could add a thirteenth month to the calendar, where would you put it? What would you call it? Conversations in the Classroom - 28 www.headsupenglish.com
41: What is the worst job in the world? Why do you think so? 42: For two minutes, brainstorm as many words as possible about politicians. 43: If you could spend the next fifty years relaxing at home, would you want to? Why/not? 44: If you had the opportunity to rename your hometown, what would you call it? 45: You just won the lottery! What is the first thing that you do? 46: Would you want a spouse who was both smarter and more attractive than you? Why/not? 47: 48: 49: 50: 51: If you sold your soul for something, what would it be for? Why? Is there such a thing as "a good death?" Why/not? If you could live forever, would you want to? Why/not? Tell about a time when a stranger helped you. If you could have any number of siblings, how many would you want to have? Of what gender?
61: Which is more important, intelligence or experience? Why? 62: If you read one book per day for a year, would it be the equivalent of four years at a university? Why/not? 63: Would you want to become an English teacher? Why/not? 64: Some people amass millions of dollars in their lives. Would you consider them successful? Why/not? 65: Who is the most disgusting person you have ever met? What made him/her so disgusting? 66: Some people vagabond around the world for twenty years or more. Would you want to do this? Why/not? 67: 68: 69: 70: If you could live in a different era, when would you want to live? Why? If you could travel in time, would you prefer to visit the past or the future? Why? Could you fall in love with someone you found physically repulsive? Why/not? Which is more important in a boy/girlfriend, physical appearance or personality? Why?
71: Do you believe that opposites attract? Why/not? 72: If you could change your first name, what would it be? Why did you choose this name? 73: If you could change your last name, what would it be? Why did you choose this name? 74: How does a person's name influence his/her character or personality? 75: What other language would you like to speak fluently? Why? 76: If you could commit a crime and not get caught, what crime would you commit? Why? 77: What color best describes your personality? Why do you think so? Conversations in the Classroom - 30 www.headsupenglish.com
93: What would you do with $1,000,000? If you had to spend all the money within twenty-four hours, how would your answer change? 94: Do you have any regrets in life so far? If yes, what are they? If no, is there a particular reason you are free of regrets? 95: What would you do if your boss asked you to take a 25% cut in pay? Please explain. 96: If you caught your boss stealing important documents from the office, what would you do? Please explain. 97: Could you ever consider blackmailing a person? 98: Would you consider yourself a leader or a follower? Why? 99: If you could have been responsible for one invention in the history of humankind, what would you have wanted to invent? Why? 100: Do you believe in reincarnation and past lives? Who might you have been in a former life?
These conversation cards have been designed with a front (the picture) and a back (the question). When preparing the materials, its recommended that each card be folded and taped. For long-term use, laminate the cards.
Did you have any pets when you were younger? If yes, what were their names?
Heads Up English
Do you have any pets now? If yes, what kind of pets do you have?
Heads Up English
What kind of days do you like? What do you usually do on those days?
Heads Up English
What kind of days do you dislike? What do you usually do on those days?
Heads Up English
Who do you look like more, your mom or your dad? Why do you think so?
Heads Up English
Who do you take after more, your mom or your dad? Why do you think so?
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Which do you like better, the morning, the afternoon, or the night? Why?
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Have you ever stolen something? If yes, what did you steal?
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Who is older, your mom or your dad? How old are they?
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Have you ever eaten something really strange? If yes, what did you eat?
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Is there an animal that you don't like very much? If yes, what is it?
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Which do you like the least, the morning, the afternoon, or the night? Why?
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How many brothers and sisters do you have? Tell a little about them.
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How many people are there in your family? Tell a little about each person.
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When was the last time you went to the doctors office?
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How old was your father when you were born? How about your mother?
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What was the last thing that you bought? Why did you buy it?
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When was the last time you went to the dentists office?
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When was the last time you went shopping for new clothes? What did you buy?
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When was the last time you made a big mistake? What happened?
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When was the last time you went to see a movie? What did you see?
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When was the last time you flew in a plane? Where did you go?
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Do you have a special dish that you can cook well? If yes, what is it?
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When was the last time you talked with your parents?
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What food do you hate the most? Why do you hate it?
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Which do you enjoy more, watching sports or playing sports? Is there a reason?
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If you could play one musical instrument professionally, what instrument would you want to play? Why?
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If you could call anyone in the world, who would you call? What would you talk about?
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What advice would you give to someone just starting to learn English?
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If you could rid your family of one thing, what would it be? Why?
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You have the chance to make a new law. What is the law about? How does it affect people?
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Would you ever consider starting your own company one day? Why/not?
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If you could change your birthday to a different month, when would you like to celebrate it? Why?
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If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why would you want to go there?
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You plan to repaint the outside of your house. What color do you decide to paint it, besides white? Why this color?
What is the most beautiful place you have ever visited? Why was it so beautiful?
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If you had to be homeless for a year, in what country would you prefer to be homeless? Why?
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If you could have any animal for a pet, what animal would you choose? What would you name it?
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If you were suddenly to lose one of your five senses, which would make your life the most difficult? Why do you think so?
If you could add a thirteenth month to the calendar, where would you put it? What would you call it?
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In your life, what emotion would you like to get rid of? Why?
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Who's the smartest person you have ever met? Why was he/she so intelligent?
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Who's the most ignorant person you have ever met? Why was he/she so stupid?
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If you could have one wish, what would you wish for? Why?
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Who's the kindest person you have ever met? What made him/her so kind?
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If you could give your parents one gift, what would you give them? Why?
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You have the chance to become a citizen of another country. What country do you choose? Why?
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What is the best song ever written? Why do you think so?
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If you could arrest anyone and put them in jail for any reason, who would it be? Why?
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What advice would you give to a high school student about to graduate?
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What would the most difficult job in the world be for you? Why do you think so?
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If you could marry someone famous, whom would you choose? Why?
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Could you ever marry for money rather than love? Why/not?
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You have the time and money to travel anywhere in the world. Where do you go?
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What is the worst job in the world? Why do you think so?
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If you could spend the next fifty years relaxing at home, would you want to? Why/not?
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If you had the opportunity to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
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You just won the lottery! What is the first thing you do?
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Would you want a spouse who was both smarter and more attractive than you? Why/not?
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If you sold your soul for something, what would it be for? Why?
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If you could have any number of siblings, how many would you want to have? Of what gender?
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If you had to eat one kind of food every day for the rest of your life, what food would be impossible to stomach?
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You have enough money to buy any building in the world. What building will you buy?
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What is the best job in the world? Why do you think so?
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Which is more important, how you were raised (nurture) or who raised you (nature)? Why do you think so?
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If you read one book per day for a year, would it be the equivalent of four years at a university? Why/not?
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Some people amass millions of dollars in their lives. Would you consider them successful? Why/not?
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Who is the most disgusting person you have ever met? What made him/her so disgusting?
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Some people vagabond around the world for twenty years or more. Would you want to do this? Why/not?
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If you could live in a different era, when would you want to live?
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If you could travel in time, would you prefer to visit the past or the future? Why?
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Could you fall in love with someone you found physically repulsive? Why/not?
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If you could change your first name, what would it be? Why did you choose this name?
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If you could change your last name, what would it be? Why did you choose this name?
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How does a person's name influence his/her character or personality? Please explain.
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If you could commit a crime and not get caught, what crime would you commit? Why?
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What color best describes your personality? Why do you think so?
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Would you consider yourself a worrier? If yes, what do you generally worry about?
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What is a mentor? Have you ever had a mentor? Could you ever mentor someone?
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What kind of social problems does the world face today? What can you do to help?
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Is it better to have tried something difficult and failed than to never have tried it? Why/not?
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What is the most outrageous thing you would do for $1000? How about $10,000? How about $1,000,000?
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If you could date a celebrity, who would you want to date? Please explain.
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If you could marry a celebrity, who would you want to marry? Please explain.
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Who is the coolest person you have ever met? Why was he/she so cool?
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If you found $1,000,000 in a suitcase in a park, what would you do? Please explain.
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What would you do with $1,000,000? If you had to spend all the money within twenty-four hours, how would you answer change? Do you have any regrets in life so far? If yes, what are they? If no, is there a particular reason you are free of regrets?
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What would you do if your boss asked you to take a 25% pay cut? Please explain.
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If you caught your boss stealing important documents from the office, what would you do? Please explain.
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If you could have been responsible for one invention in the history of humankind, what would you have wanted to invent? Why? Do you believe in reincarnation and past lives? Who might you have been in a former life?
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