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CONVERSATION CLASS
Conversation courses are usually taken by students who want to use and improve their speaking (and listening) skills. Their needs are different from students who take ordinary textbook-based classes.
5 Activities to Use in a Conversation Class:
1. Have a debate.
Conversation is about more than just talking. It’s also about making valid points in a discussion. Teach your students how to do this with a classroom debate. Choose an age and level appropriate topic and then divide the class into “sides”. If you are teaching a one-on-one conversation class, let your student choose his/her stance on the topic and you can argue the opposing side. Give your students time to prepare their opening arguments. After presenting and listening to the opposition, each side must offer a rebuttal.
2. Telephone Calls
Conversations on the telephone can be more difficult than conversations in person. On the phone, you can’t read a person’s body language or even gather more clues from the situation. Instead, you have to rely solely on the spoken word. Make your students practice “talking on the phone” by putting to chairs back to back or by blindfolding two students. Teach them the correct way to answer a phone, things to say during the conversation, and how to end the call. You can also blindfold one student and choose another student to start talking. The blindfolded student should guess who the “caller” is.
3. Celebrity Interviews
Students of all ages love to “make believe”. Help your students to expand their conversation skills through interviews. Make your students get into pairs. One student should be the journalist and the other should be a celebrity getting interviewed. After the initial interview is done, let your students switch roles.
4. Favourite Scenes
Tell your students to get into groups. Each group should choose a scene from one of their favourite movies. Each group member should take on the identity of one of the characters in the film. Now, the students must reenact the scene, adlibbing the dialogues. After a practice round, the students can perform for the class.
5. Situational Learning
Conversations happen anywhere and everywhere; your students should be prepared to talk in a number of situations. Help your students by giving them new experiences. Create a new environment in your classroom. For example, turn your classroom into an airport. Assign one student to be working at the check-in counter, one to be the immigration officer and another student to be the traveler. Now, instruct your students to have conversations appropriate to the situation they are in. If you are teaching a one-on-one conversation class, you can be the ticket taker and your student can be the traveler. Then, you can change roles. You can create scenarios such as: “at the bank”, “at school”, “buying groceries”, “on a date”, and many more.
These are some fun activities to do with your conversation class. Almost all of these activities can be adjusted for either a full class or a one-on-one session. When you are teaching a conversation class to your language students, you simply have to remember to be engaging and relevant. While conversation classes don’t take that much prep, it’s still a good idea to arrive at your class with an idea or two in mind.
Have you successfully executed other activities in conversation class? If so, tell us what they were so we can try them out as well!