Literacy Resources for Adult ESOL and ABE Educators: Conversation Guides

 Warm up: Put students in pairs or small groups, and have them work on the task together.

 Think of as many personality adjectives as you can. One person in your group should write all the words down. 

Extra: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/adjectivesforpeople.shtml (if you want to display this on the screen or look at it ahead of time if you don't have a computer)

After 10 minutes, have each group send one representative to the board to write at least 2 of the words they came up with. Ask students if any word is unfamiliar, and define as necessary.\

Tell students the topic will be "first impressions," and that throughout the group session they should remember these adjectives to describe people and use them if possible.

Small group discussion questions

1. What is a first impression?

2. Do you think first impressions are accurate? 

3. What is a time your first impression of someone was wrong or right? 

4. What should you do to make a good impression on someone in your country?

5. What is the rudest thing you could do when first meeting an older person in your country?

After giving the group ample time to discuss in small groups/pairs, come together and share some answers.

Now for visuals! If you have a computer, you can do this on the projector, and just google image the terms. If you don't, then you can find pictures you like before class and print them to display one at a time. 

However you do it, the way this activity can go is you display one picture at a time. In pairs or groups of 3, students must talk about what their first impressions are of that person, and why. 

Ideas for search terms to show pictures: 

Business woman

Doctor

Punk musician

preppy student

This topic has many possible directions to go depending on student interest, from biology to mythology. Below is one suggested lesson centered around the topic.

Warm up: Show the 1781 painting "The Nightmare" (on the screen or a printed copy). Ask students to write down or discuss with their neighbor what they think is happening in the picture. 

Eliciting and activating prior knowledge: Students discuss in pairs or small groups.

What idioms/vocabulary words do you know related to dreams/sleep?

What do you think is the role of dreams? (Are they more physical or psychological?)

What's the strangest dream you've ever had? The scariest? 

Do you think dreams come true? Can they tell us anything? 

Idioms to share with students before or after the speaking; you can have them use these in speaking 

A dream come true – something that has been desired for a long time that has happened as hoped for.

Example: “My new job at the library is a dream come true: the people are lovely, and the work is interesting.”

A pipe dream – an idea that could never happen because it is impossible.

Example:  "Mark’s pipe dream is to become the president of the World Bank.”

To be in a dream world – to have ideas or hopes which are not practical or likely to be successful.

Example: “Stop living in a dream world! If you want to graduate college you’ll have to study harder.”

Beyond (someone's) wildest dreams –  when something happens that is far more than you could have hoped for or imagined.

Example: “My childhood trip to Disneyland was beyond my wildest dreams-- it was perfect.”

Broken dreams – wishes or desires that cannot come true.

Example: “In the movie, the poor girl’s life was full of broken dreams”

"Dream on!" or "In your dreams!" – Expressions you say to someone who has just told you about something they want, if you do not believe it will ever happen.

Example: “You want to win the lottery? Dream on!”

Wouldn’t dream of doing – would not even consider doing something. Grammar note: You must keep the verb after "of" in the gerund (ing) form.

Example: “I wouldn’t dream of traveling without insurance, it’s too risky”

Listening: TED Ed has a great video on the topic "Why do we dream?"

Prediction: Go around the group and each student share one thing (or word association) about what they think the talk will be about.

Listen: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-we-dream-amy-adkins

Comprehension: Under the "Think" tab to the right of the talk, there are comprehension questions you can go over together with the class.

Speaking: 

After listening, click on the "dicuss" tab to the right of the video for questions to discuss in pairs of small groups.

"Exit ticket":

Before they leave, each student tells you either a) the most interesting thing they learned today or b) one thing they still want to know more about.

This lesson is better for high level students, so if you had a conversation group of Intermediate or above.

Warm up: Questions to discuss with partner/group

1) Imagine you have 500 dollars in front of you.  If you can wait and not spend the money for one year, then you can have double the amount (1000). What would you do? 

2) Are you tempted by soft drinks, cigarettes, or sugary food? What is most tempting to you? How do you resist your biggest temptation? 

3) What is more your life philosophy: getting/doing what you want right away (impulsive), or waiting for the future (being safe)? Why do you think this is your preference? 

4) Do you think the ability to resist gratification (strong willpower) is necessary for success?

5) What is more motivating: the promise of a reward or the threat of punishment? 

6) How might learning English relate to all this? 

Vocabulary to learn before the listening: 

hold off (on)

replete with 

wolf down 

indecisive 

Listening: Watch the video and ask students to listen for main idea, not necessarily every word, given the difficulty level.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/can-teaching-kids-resist-marshmallow-pave-road-success/

Comprehension: Discussion

​1) How would you summarize the marshmallow test?

2) What was the most interesting part of the video to you?

3) Do you think if you fail this test you will not be successful? 

Gifts and Good Deeds

1. Is gift giving important in your country?  When do people normally give each other gifts (birthdays, parties, holidays, and a host or hostess gift)?  What kinds of gifts do people normally give each other?  Are there some gifts that people avoid giving each other?  For example, in China people don’t give clocks as a gift because the Chinese word for clock is very similar to the word for death.  Are there some gifts that are better to give on certain occasions?
2. What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
   • Questions 2-5 are great opportunities to:
     • Talk about comparative and superlative adjectives
     • Discuss the present perfect tense.
3. What is the greatest gift you have ever given someone?
4. Describe something special someone has done for you.
5. Describe something special you have done for someone else.

Tell us about your Hometown…

Tell us about your hometown (the place where you were 

born, or grew up):

Would you describe it as urban, rural, or suburban? 

Is it an old (historic) city or town, or modern? 

How do people travel (by public transportation, cars, bicycles, or walking)? 

Did you live there a long time, or did you move often? 

Has it changed since you were a child?  

What is your favorite memory of your hometown? 

Do you think you’ll move back there someday? 

Do you prefer living in a city, small town, or a suburban community? 

Do you have a favorite city? 

What do you like best about living in a city? What do you like least?

What do you like best about living in a rural area? What do you like least?  

What is your favorite thing about Boston? 

What surprised you most about Boston when you first arrived? 

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Discover a moving TED talk and ways to use it to stimulate conversation in your group. To view this Ted Talk by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, click here.

If you're looking to mix things up and find a change from the same patterns in your groups, incorporating music in the group is a great way to start! This guide has a list of possible activities and ideas for using songs in conversation groups.