Now over 2400 conversation topics
by: Nancy Ellen Zelman
Level: High beginning to advanced. Primary to Adult.
The author's experiences as an ESL teacher and as a lawyer working in Los Angeles have given her a clear sense of what immigrants and international students want and need to talk about.
Conversation Inspirations has been used all over the world. The more than 2400 topics range all the way from the universal - human nature and interpersonal relationships - to the culturally vital - cutting edge issues in North American society and how people from other cultures feel about them and deal with them.
Whether you want to choose topics for your class that are fun or provocative, that build an understanding of U. S. culture in today's world, or that help them with their personal adjustment, you'll find this book invaluable.
For this new, third edition, many of the topics have been revised and updated. The book is in a larger format with larger type to make it easier to photocopy and read.
How does the book work? Photocopy a page or two. Choose 3 to 5 topics to offer your students. Cut them out and paste them on index cards. Then let your students choose what inspires them. Giving them a choice motivates them to talk. For a fun variation, have small groups of students draw topics out of a hat.
The author explains 8 different conversation activities: talks, interviews, role plays, chain stories and other group activities, and discussions. Procedures for each activity are clearly laid out.
The procedures include the use of topic cards, monitoring, and correction techniques, and a variety of game rituals that make each conversation class effective as well as enjoyable.
